Event - The 25,000 Light Year View

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The 25,000 Light Year View

The atmosphere in the lower level gym at ADI headquarters is… tense, to say the least. Nia, Neil, and Rae are present with the rest of those remaining at the organization (or willing to come when called by Neil and Rae for a final statement) seated in benches and chairs that have been dragged in. It's not the usual, orderly meetings that some might have gotten used to for mission briefings.

Neil speaks first. "Thank you, everyone, for coming in. Lot's been happening, but we've come to… an understanding about where we need to go. The artifacts that were in the Vault have all been accounted for or noted as destroyed in some manner with a few exceptions. We're still chasing- ADI is still chasing those down with help from anyone who might want to give it. Won't pretend this is going to be a kumbaya moment, so let's get down to brass tacks. There's an apocalypse on. Whatever this organizations stands for now, its original mission was to uncover and stop those. That's still my mission."

"Mine, too," Rae chimes in.

"It's one we all share," Nia adds.

Neil nods before continuing. "So, we stop this, and we go our separate ways. I'll be leaving ADI and starting my own organization. We've seen a large number of threats in the Appalachian region and a lot of folks heavily impacted by decisions ADI's made. I'll be taking my organization there. Already been in touch with our- with ADI's field agents in the region. Some will be joining me. Along with a certain newsperson who keeps sniffing around. We'll do what we can to do right by the people who've been hurt most. That's going to be our focus. Support and security. We're not feeding the Hunt anymore by running down threats."

Rae steps up next. "And I'll be going where I need to. Lot of threats out west. If you're looking to do some good that won't be working for the Hunt… maybe think about heading that way."

Nia is the last to speak. "And I'll be staying here in Gloucester. ADI will be staying. And I will be its final Warden. We're stopping Zyrian, then we're figuring out what the hell is going on with Dogtown to get all of you people from other worlds home. Or at least stop anyone else coming in. After that? I'm out. What happens after that is still in the works. But Neil's agreed to stay in touch to help with everything… once I'm gone." There's a flicker of emotion across Neil's stoic expression. Regret, frustration… grief. "But right now, we look to Wolf Trap. I-"

There's a pause, and Neil and Rae look to Nia in concern as she puts a hand to her temple. She recovers, though. "Huh… We look to Wolf Trap, Virginia. We'll have buses to get everyone down there. We'll be arriving just as Copernicus' launch of the New Horizon's project is underway. That's where Zyrian Steel's going to do his ritual. We need to find the server rooms at the event. Those are important."

Rae squints at Nia, "You sure?"

Nia nods. "Yeah. I'm real sure about that. It'll be dangerous, though, and that's not the- it's not the only threat that's gonna be there."

Neil's looking wary. "Nia?"

"There's something else. The Web? It's not just the Vast that's involved in this, I don't think. It would make sense, right?" She shakes her head. "We'll be facing multiple Entity threats down there, not just the Vast. And I'm sure Zyrian's gonna kick the ritual off on the last day, once he's had time for-for something… not sure what. But he's a dramatic bastard, if nothing else. And timing's everything."

Neil and Rae exchange uncertain looks before Neil speaks up again. "Coming is voluntary, like always, but we'll want boots on the ground to cover as much ground as possible. They'll be holding the biggest events and productions at the Filene Center stage. But we're expecting tech booths scattered all throughout the park. Be on your guard."

"And bring a gun," Rae advises.

➥ Links

• General Setting Prompts - Part 1 & Part 2
  
• NPC/Mod Response Prompts - LINK
  
  

Wolf Trap Park
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General Setting Prompts - Part 1

[apocalypsehowmods]

General Setting Prompts

This section is for general RP prompts. While character actions in these prompts may have an overall impact on the event, mods will not be responding directly to any actions taken here.

_

➥ Dance, Dance, Revolution

(cw: compulsion, loss of autonomy)

Filene Center, set in the northern portion of its park, is nearly a work of modern art itself. The paving stones of the area are a neutral gray with colored tiles and cutouts of local masonry set into swirling designs all meant to guide the eye towards the center stage. There are many exhibits and displays set up for the event held today in honor of Copunicus’ technological steps forward, but to kick the event off…why not a little music?

The band itself is nothing special to notice as though the music itself drowns them out and lead them to blend into their art. The leadwoman is the only one who stands out, sporting distinctive tattoos around her mouth: thick, black, lines leading down from the corners of her lips to her chin. The music starts simple, a weaving of notes like threads through the gathering, ushering attendees in for the event as a whole and some spectators even closer than that. The area in front of the stage stands invitingly open to anyone feeling the pull to dance. Perhaps a bit too literally. It’s not a conscious thought that enters your head as you stray too close to the stage, just the idea of dancing. Dancing sounds good, doesn’t it? When was the last time you danced?

Getting closer allows the words to filter in through the music. Stories of dancing for joy, of tragic loss of self, of a fight between lovers, and some that even lead verses through a story of violence. It’s another thought, one that feels almost like your own idea. If the steps are so clearly laid out for you, why not follow them?

Perhaps you dismiss the idea, perhaps it seems like a silly thought, but once the idea has taken hold, that pull feels more like a yank. An invisible force around wrists and knees and ankles pulls listeners along, a marionette of the music. Fight as you might, the lyrics narrate the dancers through their twisted performances without escape. Not until the last note of the song fades. In the breath between songs, perhaps you may find the will to break away once more.

_

➥ Wired

(cw: phantom limbs; body dysmorphia; body horror; existential horror; dead bodies; snakes, electric shock)

From the outside, the server room is little more than an 8-by-8-foot box set up in the parking lot behind the Filene Center. Out of sight, out of mind for those visiting the park for the grand unveiling of Copernicus' newest technologies. For those with more interest in the new and innovative, the stands set up in front of the Filene Center and around the park are far more enticing than an unremarkable set of white walls.

Perhaps you'll take an interest in the stand where you can test moving an artificial hand just by hooking a set of ear pieces around the back of your head. The sensation of a phantom third hand that keeps stretching and moving will surely fade in just a few minutes. Nothing to be worried about.

Perhaps you'd like to see yourself in a multitude of different fashions or with some… enhancements to your body. Step up to one of the Magic Mirror displays and press a few buttons to make your selection. Doesn't that other version of you look so much better? Taller, better dressed, curvier, whatever flaws you might perceive in your physical appearance can be melted away with the Magic Mirror. If going back to your boring inadequate body afterward is too much… Well, maybe there's a way to make those changes more permanent. For a price.

Perhaps you've made it to the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods and will get to build your own little robot toys. If the little clicks and whirs they make seem to spell out 'HELP' 'GOD' 'WHY' and 'HURT' in Morse Code? Well, that's just silly! Who would even notice that? It's all in good fun. Help build more of the little friends for someone to take home with them.

Or perhaps you are focused on the prize. Those who approach the server room will find it almost suspiciously unguarded given security elsewhere for the event. Stepping inside might give one an idea of why. There's only a low level of red light and a small entry area with dividers all around. It seems impossible to actually get past those dividers at first. They look like flimsy plastic, but that's only appearances. They become passable as soon as the door to outside clicks shut. And will not open again easily. But you're here for the servers, right? No going back!

The area beyond the dividers is huge, much, much bigger than the building should be. There are rows upon rows upon rows of servers stacked up to a ceiling that stretches higher than you can actually see, beyond anything even a flashlight can illuminate. There is no way you have enough explosives or bullets or hands to wreck everything here unless you had weeks.

Multi-colored wires bristle from every visible server. The ground is covered in them. Just trying to walk presents a tripping hazard. Amongst the wires and rows, though, are those who seem to have already tripped, already succumbed to whatever power is here. Arms and legs and partial torsos are visible, the rest of people subsumed by the wires. Some of them are still, some twitch and jerk. In the distance, you might be able to hear whimpering or outright screams.

While it might seem to be just wires and servers, there are, in fact, some silver, sphere-like transmitters tucked here and there about the place. They're definitely transmitting out of this room and seem to be most prevalent around the bodies of those trapped in the wires. Probably want to get rid of those. And maybe try to pull people out of the wires? But be quick about your work.

Something slithers amongst the wires. They crackle with electricity and seem to be the ones dispersing the transmitters. Serpents made of exposed copper wire that will fling themselves at intrudes to deliver a debilitating electrical shock… then work to get their victims hooked into the machines.

_

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, you're at a tech fair! There are going to be geeks aplenty here, and more than a few skeptics. There will be many Zyrian Steel fanboys, and some detractors wanting to see him fail. There are also families who have come for the event, so characters might see people of all ages around. Please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
  
  
• DANCE, DANCE, REVOLUTION (16-19 June) - Characters pulled in by the music may find themselves ‘dancing’ to any kind of song. Whatever the lyrics, solo or in pairs, they’ll be forced to act out whatever is happening in the song. If the song is about having a terrible fight with your significant other, hopefully the other person isn’t actually your significant other. If it’s about dancing until you drop, well…that might leave some bruises. Once the song ends, the compulsion will be weak enough for characters to break free and leave the area, but if they take too long, the next song will start and they’ll be forced to dance again. Anyone trying to approach the stage will find their thoughts harder to grasp onto until the only thought left is how they’re needed. Across the park. Right now. Just sit back and enjoy the music!
  
  
• WIRED (16-19 June) - Characters can experience one or all of the booth horrors, should they so desire. The people actually running the tech booths seem genuinely enthusiastic and unaware of the terrible effects their innovations may be having on people. For those who use the Magic Mirror, cosmetic changes that exist in the mirror can be kept permanently at the price of the character experiencing permanent dysmorphia regarding the change and other aspects of their body. They will never again feel right in their own skin. The effects of the mechanical hand will dissipate over the course of 24 hours. The little robots that people are building don't seem to have any autonomy beyond the whirring and clicking in Morse Code. They are incapable of complex codes or conversation, simply repeating the pleas and cries of suffering and horror. Destroying them will stop the clicking… but does that really solve the problem? Is there any solution? Not in this case, unfortunately. Characters are free to take the robots home with them, regardless, should they wish to have the toys for their entertainment.
  
  For the server room, the dividers will not open until the door to the outside is closed. No human means will break through the barriers, not even explosives. Characters can work on rescuing those who have been trapped, be trapped themselves, fight the copper serpents, or try to disable the transmitters that the serpents leave out. This is as easy as crushing them. They're not very strong.

General Setting Prompts - Part 2

[apocalypsehowmods]

General Setting Prompts

This section is for general RP prompts. While character actions in these prompts may have an overall impact on the event, mods will not be responding directly to any actions taken here.

_

➥ Enter the Matrix

(cw: dissociation and derealization; existential horror related to the size of the universe; villain actively attempting to induce a mental health crisis; altered mental states in general; paralysis; harm to imaginary animals)

The minds of living creatures know their own fragility on some deep, unthought level. There are facts of life and science known to anyone with a basic education, that are yet not known, things learned by the mind that the soul refuses to ever truly comprehend. One can speak of lightyears, of galaxies and the vast emptiness of space in an ever-expanding universe, but the divide between understanding numbers on a page rather than truly absorbing the merciless scope of existence is a mental divide born of self preservation.

Zyrian's machine is designed to tear down that divide, to peel back the layers of its victims' natural defense against seeing, comprehending, and Knowing precisely how unimaginably small they truly are in relation to the totality of reality. Once you're caught in the wires and plugged into the machine, you will begin to understand. There's an excruciating duality to it, knowing at once that you are ensnared in cables among many others, conscious of your body but unable to move or cry out, but seeing at the same time what the machine has to show you.

You are a fledgling bird on a precipice, surf crashing against the base of the cliff so, so far below you. The slate-grays of the rock, the sky, and the fathomless ocean are all of one palette and each blends into the next, the featureless sky leaving you exposed and helpless where you cling to near-vertical stone. Vicious wind carries stinging whips of sea spray. Your talons slip, the stone that has been your meager sanctuary disappears from reach, and you plunge through the air for seconds that stretch into minutes that stretch into eternities, hitting the water only to continue your suffocating journey down, down, down--

You are a dandelion with its face turned skyward, an endless blue dome above, a plane of green that stretches beyond sight on all sides of you dotted with countless more of your kind, each as insignificant as the next. As night falls and the sun slips below the horizon, slowly but dizzyingly comes the realization that it's not the sun moving from view, but the Earth turning slow somersaults. Gazing upward into the blackness of space between pinpricks of starlight still spinning above, you are grasped by the knowledge that up and down have little meaning beyond where your roots are now withering in the dirt below you. With a last painful jolt the Earth lets you go and you fall into the sea of stars, alone and spinning out of control in the empty black–

You are an asteroid at once hanging motionless in space and yet hurtling through it. In the endless emptiness there is no frame of reference until a pinprick of light before you begins to grow in size and brightness. First white, then blue, then comprehensible as a lonely, clouded marble cast in the light of a distant star, you finally recognize the planet of your birth. As it grows in your sight, you finally understand the speed at which you must have been traveling this entire time, and you realize that you're on a collision course. At this speed you'll surely be destroyed, along with the specks of life that inhabit that remote little globe, but there's no altering your course. You hurtle ever closer, the planet growing until it fills your vision–and your stony skin burns as you skim its atmosphere, yanked onto a different course that sends you flying away into lonely space once more, leaving you bereft with the knowledge that you've just lost the only chance you had at contact with another living thing in this vast emptiness–

Again and again your mind grapples with the information fed to it by the machine, your subconscious translating it into one vision or metaphor after another. All the while, you remain a mind trapped in a body trapped in a machine, and the knowledge of where you are and what you are slowly grows rather than ever diminishing or being subsumed into the visions. You are one of many, but the many are so small as to be nothing. The server room that houses you is enormous, but it is a speck on a speck destined to be lost in the tapestry of the galaxy. What you see in the visions is only a taste of what you are meant to see and understand in the real, physical world.

When you truly understand, the visions will stop…and then it will be too late. Once the duality of your experience reintegrates into a singular perception of your real self and your true place in the universe, your mind will break and you will know nothing but that truth and the fear and unending despair it brings.

_

➥ Mod Notes

• ENTER THE MATRIX (16-19 June) - Players are encouraged to invent their own visuals and metaphors for how their characters' minds would attempt to parse the vastness of the universe being forced upon them. Scenarios experienced inside the machine will generally be dream- (or nightmare-)like rather than strictly narrative, so players are welcome to have things shift around unpredictably. Characters can find each other in the mindscape and offer each other support in whatever form they find themselves. Strategies that can help delay a Bad End while they await rescue from the physical world outside the machine include focusing on small-scale concepts and refusing to look at anything big; focusing on memories that bring meaning to one's life; or (perhaps dangerously) retreating further into a state of derealization and hallucination to avoid making the mental connection between the machine's teachings and one's own real, physical existence. Focusing on memories and finding meaning in one's own existence is the only method that will allow characters to regain muscle control long enough to unplug themselves; otherwise they will need to be rescued from outside the machine. Characters who have escaped from the machine may experience flashbacks to their time in it at player discretion.

NPC Interactions

[apocalypsehowmods]

NPC/Mod Setting Interactions

This section is for players wishing to take a more active role in deciding ADI's ultimate fate, and directly interacting with key NPCs. We would ask, for the sake of plot progression, that those tagging in prioritize these threads to the extent practicable. Mods will do so, as well.

We would request all tag-ins by June 21st to allow for sufficient time to thread things out. Players may tag in just their character or may thread in pairs with mod responses. You may tag an individual character into a maximum of two (2) different mod response options.

_

➥ Jazz

(cw: panic; discussion of dead bodies)

"Hey. Hey, you!" The young Asian man who grasps at your arm is a stranger, one with wild, terrified eyes. He looks to be in his late teens or early twenties, and he's practically shaking like a leaf. "You gotta help. There's- fuck, man. There's a monster in the server rooms. One of the server rooms? I don't even know how many they've set up here. And it was- it was way too big. I walked around the building. But it- Look. None of the security people are taking me seriously, but there are bodies in there. Like-like people? People in trouble. I got out. I figured out how to get out, but I- god! This was supposed to just be a summer gig. What the hell? What the hell?"

_

➥ Fortune

(cw: altered perceptions of reality, tones of madness)

There’s been so much chaos. Information flying, people running about, monsters to fight, and yet no sign of Steel himself and no the ideas Nia, Rae, and Neil have chased have all come up empty. Wherever he is, he’s well hidden. Through all of it, though, there has been one consistent presence just on the edge of wherever the fun is. Those observant might recognize they’ve seen her more than once… just before or near a discovery of new lead, the rumor of wire monsters, and right near where ADI has set up a temporary base. Steel’s app goes live and she sits there, legs dangling off the edge of a narrow window sill that has no good path to reach. She sits there now, watching everyone scramble around and unnoticed by those around. Except you.

You she turns a smile on, one that seems a little too wide, framed as it is with dark lipstick. Her eyes catch the light in a deep pitless black. A void under her wide-brimmed hat and motions you over with a wave of hands tattooed in branching fractals that trace up her wrists and into the sleeves of her long coat.

“Having some trouble, are you?” Her voice is soft, but drowns out every other sound in the area to those she’s set her sights on, almost like it’s right behind your ear. “Would you like some help?”

_

➥ Zyrian Steel

(cw: dissociation and derealization; existential horror related to the size of the universe; villain actively attempting to induce a mental health crisis; altered mental states in general; please use headers for additional warnings as needed)

The sky is watching you. Here within his realm, lording over the people plugged into his machine, Zyrian Steel is everywhere and nowhere. He might be a comet in space, the earth beneath your feet, a great eagle whose wings block out the sun–whatever illusion your mind has cooked up to hide from the knowledge with which he has gifted to you, Zyrian plays his role in it, at least for now.

"Creative!" he grins, conveying amusement whether or not he has a mouth or a face with which to convey it. "But it won't help. Just let it happen and–well, it won't be all over. It'll just be starting."

Somewhere deep in the server rooms, lies the physical body of Zyrian Steel. Where others plugged into the machine weep silent tears or cry out for help that may never come, he rests peacefully, a satisfied smile on his lips. Soon everyone will join him in knowing and understanding their place.

_

➥ Mod Notes

• Zyrian Steel - For this prompt, any number of characters may interact with Steel inside the mindscape generated by his machine. They may be able to hurt or even appear to kill him, but he will come back from any death inside the mindscape. Only one team of characters will be able to find his physical body and kill him from outside the machine once and for all; as of this posting that selection has already been made via RNG. Please refer to the OOC post for more details.

Zyrian Steel Confrontation - for Elidibus, Yelena, and Cortana

[apocalypsehowmods]

Zyrian Steel Confrontation

This thread is for the characters listed in the subject line, who have been selected via RNG to be the ones to find Zyrian's physical body in the server room.

_

➥ Who Wants to Kill a Millionaire?

(cw: existential horror; dead bodies; snakes; body horror; electric shock; villain actively attempting to induce a mental health crisis; please use headers for additional warnings as needed)

Deep in the fortress of towering server stacks, there is no sunlight, no fresh air, no indication of which direction might lead back to the outside world. Perhaps these intrepid three arrived together, or perhaps they've joined forces after coming across one another in the endless machinery--regardless, here there is only the buzzing lights overheard, the blinking of the machines, and the tangle of wires ready to ensnare the unwary.

Finding Zyrian Steel is less a matter of tracking him down than simply coming across him. There's no particular rhyme or reason to where he's placed himself, no clear path to his resting place, and nothing really special at all about this region of the server room until one suddenly stumbles out into what can only be described as a clearing. And then, plain as day, there he is: unlike the victims unceremoniously buried in wires on the floor, Zyrian will be found lying in state here in the seed of what will become his domain. He lays atop a counter-height bank of servers, cradled in wires that trail from his head, his arms where they cross gently over his chest, seemingly every part of him. There's a beatific smile on his lips and his brow is uncreased, his chest slowly rising and falling with peaceful breaths.

The only things that interrupt the tranquility of his resting place (that is, apart from the screams one can always hear echoing through this place) are the copper snakes that coil all around him. The bare wires of their faceless faces rise to face the intruders and spit out an unmistakable warning in the form of sparks.

Fortune

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[He notices her amidst the chaos, and right away he knows something is wrong.

Something is wrong with her appearance, it's a little too sharp, a little too unreal.]

I would, actually? That would be fantastic?

[It's a little snarled, a little angry. Even though there's no good path to her, he starts trying to make his way over to her anyway, one hand hovering above the handgun on the holster strapped to his hip and thigh.]

Zyrian Steel

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[Welp. Here he is, like an idiot, trapped within a machine that's trying to break his brain, because that just happens sometimes. It's difficult to break free of the changing visions, sometimes he just doesn't and gets lost in it, and sometimes he remembers himself and it's like clawing through molasses--one time it literally was molasses, so that's great, too--

And then he's there.

Right now John is on a balcony of the city of Atlantis, floating gently on the seas, and his mind is apparently hearing Zyrian's voice coming from the ocean. So that's also...great.]

You...

[...this is weird, and his mind is struggling as it was, but okay.]

What I didn't let it happen?

[musicdied]

It's difficult to be certain of just how much time has passed in this trackless artificial forest of wires and blinking lights. Yelena would put it at several hours at least, judging by the faint burn in her thighs and the dryness in her nasal passages from breathing the recirculated air, but she wouldn't be entirely surprised to find it's been much longer. Or much shorter. Given she hadn't entered with her current companions, there's little use in asking.

It can't have been long enough, certainly, to reach the centre of the maze - if there is any such thing, elastic as this space seems to be - which is why she's surprised when the claustrophobic press of machinery opens up, revealing the clearing and Zyrian Steel nestled within, like some warped parody of a slumbering fairy tale princess.

"Oh, look," she says, as she stops dead to survey the snakes, and the cradle of wires, and the man who's caused so much pain to so many people. Her voice is thick with the sort of humour that's little more than a thin skin over rage. "We've found Sleeping Douchebag."

[failedpromise]

"Hopefully none of us have to kiss him to wake him up." Which isn't an image she really wanted in her head, but now that it's there she's going to share it.

"Awww," she says mockingly at the reveal of the snakes. Fortunately for them, Steel doesn't seem to be very original in his approach -- they look the same as the ones they've been encountering on the way. "He's got friends." The electric jolts they deliver might be especially concerning for a robot, but she'll deal.

Even if she's about out of bullets. (Yes, she shot some of the snakes she encountered on the way. Look, if she's able to blow the head off of a small moving target without much difficulty due to having excellent motor control and peak reaction times, why wouldn't she?)

"Any plans beyond making him pay?"

Lt. Col. John Sheppard | Stargate: Atlantis | OTA

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

A. Arrival:

John steps out into the park, and admittedly, it's not a bad-looking place. The peaceful woods contrasted with a brimming energy from all the nerds running around.

"Almost reminds me of home," he says with an amused smirk as a gaggle of techbros excitedly chatter and pass in front of them.

"I mean, Atlantis, was--it's full of scientists, and researchers, and you should have seen the DnD game nights and Lord of the Rings marathons," he scoffs, as if he wasn't right there with them, nerding out even more, and organizing several Star Wars movie nights himself.

B. Wired 1:

This is probably what he gets for thinking this was a perfectly non-supernatural activity even on the cusp of an apocalypse.

Because John knows morse code.

He glances down at the little robot toy in his hands (and two more at his sides because he is so into this) and it starts clicking. And whirring. And so do the others. Frantic messages.

WHY

HURT

...

Well, that's disconcerting.

"I think mine is broken?"

C. Wired 2:

Admittedly the thrill of the hunt is getting to him. It's...nice, in a way, to be able to embrace it, to not have to worry so much about it (even though he knows he should still probably worry about it), but eventually his pursuit leads him here.

The server room is suspiciously unguarded which probably should have been his first clue.

He glances at the person next to him, and back towards the server doors. If Zyrian is anywhere, he's probably in here.

It's probably fine, but he checks his gun just in case.

"You have a weapon on you?"

D. Enter the Matrix:
cw: ptsd, cosmic horror/madness, hallucinations, derealization/depersonalization, potential drowning

So that didn't go well.

And now he was stuck inside the machine, one of the tangled bodies in the wires, and he really, really hopes someone either pulls him out in time or he figures out how to beat this.

Cause this is gonna be really, really hard.

He's been here before--not here, exactly, but he's felt something similar to this before, in Dogtown--stars, innumerable, screaming at him and Rodney, them unable to escape them, filled with that which is unspeakable, unknowable.

They knew nothing.

But something is making him know too much now.

He is a bird crashing into the ocean, he is a dandelion falling into the sky, he is an asteroid forever lost. It's difficult to stop the knowledge from infiltrating his mind, from pushing its way in, and he can feel his mind buckling--there is so much, so much, too much--

He's in Atlantis, a city floating on an ocean, and the ocean is wide, stretching from horizon to horizon and even the giant city feels small--

"No," John growls, holding his head, standing on the balcony, trying to turn away from the ocean and towards the Gate room. The bright lights of the active Stargate cast their own, eerie, water-like reflection over everything.

There's a storm outside, and the waves are starting to crash against the city. Giant waves. Waves big enough that he can start to feel the ocean swells, as the city begins to get tossed to and fro.

E. Wildcard - Anything goes!

[trappedwolves]

[Her feet kick against the wall beneath her window and she gives a tittering laugh. One that sounds like crunching leaves in the street.]

It would be, wouldn't it? What do you think you want, then, little weasel? What would help you in this trying hour?

[trappedwolves]

Me. And you. And the rest of the human race...or what we're all going to become next. Together.

[A dark shape slides by under the surface of the water, nearly as big as the city itself, sending waves crashing at the balcony in its careless wake.]

I know, I know. It's a lot--haha--it's a lot to take in.

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

See, now that's just ominous.

[He stares at the ocean, and that's also an ominous shape. He takes a step back to avoid getting hit with the waves, but the spray still gets him, a little.]

Very funny, you're a real comedian, you know that?

See, I really don't think anybody's becoming anything much after this except a screaming, hollow shell of themselves, so it's not really the kind of future I'm looking forward to.

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Little weasel, huh? Interesting choice of words. Do you like weasels, or do I just come off as weasely to you…

[He’s immediately on edge—well, on more of an edge than he already was, wondering if she was somehow behind the weaseling and crabbening of their previous field trip.]

I’m looking for Zyrian Steel, actually. You seen him around?

b - wired

[hellojon]

Elias doesn't say anything for a moment. He simply sighs and holds up his own tiny little robot (which he's only made one of because unlike John, he is a goddamn adult). The robot whirrs to life as it taps out

HELP

HURT

He remains quiet enough for John to hear what the robot's tapping before sighing, "If yours is broken, mine is as well."

Steel

[hellojon]

[ You are tiny. You are insignificant. You are one with the universe. You are a speck. You do not matter.

That's one way of looking at it. Elias wants to focus on another way.

You are part of a whole. You are a little bit of something bigger. You are more. In your do not mattering, you matter more than most because the something bigger has chosen you, has made a place for you. Elias tries to brute force his mind out of this ever-encroaching horror by focusing on the last time he was a speck: the apocalypse, when he was king undying, a conduit of the Eye, a portion of a whole, when he could feel all of knowledge funneled through him and it felt wonderful.

So in true Magnus Archives fashion, Steel's voice cuts through a lot of monologuing. ]

—it slinks and enters and covers them like a blanket, darkness pressing down, I am too tight, I cannot breathe, the mind fades and the thoughts start to fuzz, blurred at the edges like an old film, an out of focus photograph, they scream and cry and stop for each scream takes the air, the fetid air which chokes and thins and—

[ A pause. Steel's talking now! Elias's big dumb episode 193 style monologue stops as he gives Steel a little chuckle, trying to stay calm and collected despite the fact that he is very annoyed by all this. ]

You know, I don't think I will. [ A pause before, ] Which one of them are you working with?

[wewillwewill]

There had been a lot of advantages to finding himself in the maze of wires and innocents and one of them was the ability to cast aside disguises and trappings. The white robes he had to always tediously carry around in a backpack could be worn and he could create (however temporary and comparatively fleeting) weaponry. A sword and shield that might seem to be fantasy-like in how fancy it is but gets wielded with unerring efficiency and might be more than ordinary.

And magic. Though Elidibus has, as ever, the need to be cautious of how much and how powerful, for he could easily find himself powerless regardless of what he had painstakingly saved for this moment.

He knows Cortana though Yelena is an unfamiliar face. No matter, they are clear allies in the mutual goal for bringing an end to Zyrian Steel's machinations.

"I would caution against seeking revenge, Cortana," Elidibus offers. "I feel it would be a distraction to the task at hand." Along with asking how he managed to get through the horrors of the maze while wearing robes. Things you just don't want to find yourself thinking about. They are torn and no longer pristine. There are a number of scorch marks and electric welts that mar skin as well as fabric which he has not wasted energy to heal.

"Shall we attend to the guardians first?" He then asks of Yelena and Cortana both. "I would measure what the supposed core of this avatar brings to bear." Not to mention it was abundantly clear with the snakes in the way just going up and killing Steel was not going to be straightforward.

Though sword and shield are at the ready and the bulk of his intended attacks, there is one addition he brings forth.

"With my magicks, I can shield us from the worst of their shocks for a time. But they will still be felt. And it will not last long." Elidibus isn't asking for permission and wastes no time in beginning to cast this particular ward.


[Buff: Resilient (not immune) to shocks.]

[ooc: Consider this a time-sensitive protection against getting knocked flat by snek tazer. Shocks will still hurt and do damage (too many in short periods will build up). When the ward ends/shatters, it will do so all at once, leaving all three at their normal vulnerability. Mods may call when it shatters/runs out/ends!]

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

(more cool robots for him then)

“That’s…a little weird.”

He pauses looking at Elias’ robot, and then his own.

“Or a lot weird.”

HELP HELP HURT

“I don’t think robots are supposed to be in pain? Especially not toy robots?”

Jazz

[canofmanji]

[In an effort to blend in a bit better Manji is wearing a long dark blue skirt the falls all the way to the ground and an oversized black button up shirt. Although it looks like he's given up trying to button every hole about halfway up his chest. Perhaps Manji was standing in a way that hid the fact that he only has one arm, or maybe he looks strong enough without the arm, or perhaps Jazz just didn't care and Manji was the first person who he found. Regardless, Manji gives him a serious look.] Whoa, easy there, kid. [In his mid twenties, Manji really isn't that much older than what Jazz looks to be. It's mostly a habit he's developed of calling most people in this world a 'kid'.]

A monster? You're sure? What did it look like? [Or perhaps more importantly.] How'd you escape?

D! CW for unreality/rot mention?

[rainestorms]

Staying grounded in the dream...

In whatever this was, was difficult when Raine struggled to keep hold. It fractured the small memories they tried to focus on. Snapdragon fields would be turned to vast, endless expanses only to be brought spinning back by a glimpse of orange hair, and the hallways of Hexside.

But the halls warp into endless expanses of gratified walls, staircases and tattered banners, green rot growing along them. It threatens to overcome them, to drag them further and further into the endless and incomprehensible.

That was until Raine heard something, barely there but enough to draw their focus. A voice. Somebody else?

They turn in the direction of the voice to a doorframe leading to a more eerie hallway, one cast in strange light. Light that looked unnatural and natural all the same, but it was grounding in how strangely it looked like the way magic could light up when it was free. Unhindered by Covens and sigils. Eerie. But beautiful.

Raine didn't hesitate to step out and into the hallway. It changed- in some capacity it still felt like a hallway, and looked like one. But in others it became a doorway to a balcony, to strange buildings and the ocean waging war on them.

And John. They jump, surprised by the sudden appearance of a person that wasn't from any memories they clung to for sanity. But he was the human they met who was memorable- and quite amusing- and they focus on him, trying to break out of the hallway.

"Is this- John! Are you real?! I don't know if you remember me but we.. I think. No. I know we met on a bus. You're from... space, right?"

[trappedwolves]

Thanks for noticing. Did you catch me on Saturday Night Live? I hope some of the screaming, hollow shells will remember that; it was a lot of fun.

If knowing what and where you are is enough to destroy you...were you ever really all that much to write home about in the first place?

[trappedwolves]

[The Eye itself rolls over in the sky and stares directly down at Elias, its would-be conduit. Its gaze is distant and cold, sizing him up and finding him wanting. It hangs in the sky like a halted meteor, looming enormous in Elias's sight, ready to crush him with its impossible mass as much as its scrutiny.]

Oh, that's a smart question. I don't know if Nia ever even thought to sniff that out before she sent you poor pups hounding after me. But this is a very interesting little construct you've built for yourself. You're not like the others, are you?

[trappedwolves]

Their pause at the edge of the clearing is met with posturing by the copper snakes, sparks crackling through the air though none of the creatures leave their place atop and around Steel. They seem to be waiting for an attack, unwilling to leave their post to go on the offensive. The air is electric with tension and electricity as the snakes make mock strikes at the air though they're much too far away to land a shocking bite on any of the intrepid three.

Far, far quieter are the additional snakes that slither through and under the tangle of wires outside the clearing, slowly and almost silently coming up behind Zyrian's would-be attackers.

[ooc: noted!]

[hellojon]

[ As Elias sees the Eye scrutinizing him, he pushes back by thinking. He is here, he is powerful, he is a conduit for all of this, he is part of a whole but that whole is blissful and wonderful and fit for him. He wants to keep his mind intact until he learns the information he wants to know. ]

I suspect I'm more like you than I am the rest of Nia's dogs, [ he says, with a small chuckle. ] But of course she didn't think to sniff it out. You know the Hunt. So single-minded.

[hellojon]

"They're not," Elias points out, looking down at the robots with a little frown.

"I know Nia mentioned the possibility of the Web being involved. But something like this...it feels too blunt. The Web is manipulation, pulling you from behind the scenes, the Mother of Puppets slipping into unseen places and whispering from the shadows. A tiny little robot chirping that they're in pain is hardly subtle."

Elias's robot keeps on tapping out it's message. GOD WHY HELP. He ignores it entirely.