EVENT ★ SEASON FINALE

[futurologists]

ZYMANDIS CASTLE The castle -- no, the entire world, small as it is -- is too peaceful. It isn't the atmosphere one would associate with a villain's lair, even with it looking as sinister as it does. Crumbling chunks of earth float in the air, threatening to hit anyone who isn't paying attention to where they're going. It is quiet around them, like the castle is entirely without life. Cassie, Cherenkov, Crowley, Dagny, and Uruz stand beside Audentes, proud that their sister team has come so far. Each of them have offered words of encouragement, even the cats... in their own special way. Cassie is short and sweet: “Give 'em hell.” Cherenkov and Crowley have combined their efforts to create regeneration nanobots that whisper positive messages to one's psyche and gifted them to the entire team. Dagny says, “I couldn't be prouder of you!! You have done much good, and come so far, and your future is so very bright, and -- oh, may I please hug you?? I'm going to hug you now!” and sticks gold star stickers on the foreheads of various team members. Uruz says, “Pull through, Audentes! You've always been brave, headstrong, and united! This will be nothing for you lot, nothing at all. But be careful, if only for me. I want to see you all again after we're through.” The group pushes forward. The moment they do, a loud, brassy sound blares throughout the castle grounds. The world comes alive again. Enemies begin to scale down the castle walls, pop out of windows, and burst through the doors, which slam shut behind them. A dragon circles above, raining fire down upon its enemies. A small squad of goblins brandish swords. Some enemies look human but pale, frenzied, hungry; they're out of control. Others resemble Qorral bandits. The enemies call back to their past missions in some way. A way of letting them know Zymandis had been one step ahead every time. ALASTAIR was simply the cleaning crew, picking up the mess they left in their wake. Halfway through the battle, a small, pale creature with inhumanly large eyes manages to make his way through the crowd (mostly) unscathed, waving a white flag he seems to have fashioned himself out of his own clothes, judging by the large hole in his shirt. He looks too thin and too tired. He falls to his knees. “Please, o Holy Liberators!” he exclaims, kissing the ground near their feet slavishly. “It does not want to be here anymore. It wants to go home. It has information the Liberators must want. It will give it to them.” ALASTAIR strikes a deal with the creature, who reveals his true name to be Edgar, although Arbatel -- the Leader -- refers to all of his servants as nothing but 'it'. Edgar draws a childlike map to a mine entrance not far, and explains that the mine itself connects directly to Arbatel's laboratory. “It has-- I... have cleaned it many times. Master was captivated by the mines. Master had men in the mines day and night.” His voice drops to a whisper. “The Liberators need be careful. The mines claim many lives. Master does not care if they are dangerous.” With that, the group has a new plan. Some of the other teams stay back to distract the rest of the fighters, but Audentes and Kittypaw continue on. After all, Audentes is their little sibling team. Even though Audentes has been a full-fledged team for two years now -- time certainly flies! -- they've still got to look out for them. It's time to head to the mines. THE MINES The trek to the mines is a hard one. The group has to be careful to avoid lava geysers and giant, seemingly bottomless chasms, as well as panicked, violent animals. By the time they finally make it to the mines, there's a good chance their legs are aching, but there's no time to rest. Dagny has brought along a few potions she brewed herself that will help dull the ache, however. Inside the mines, no one has to worry about lava geysers. However, vision is obscured, and there's a feeling of gloom hanging over the area. After all, the mine did claim many lives. Some might even pass some bones, if they're unlucky. Arbatel isn't interested in sending corpse clean-up crews. The danger of the mines becomes apparent when Audentes and Kittypaw meet their first challenge. The twists and turns of the labyrinthine mines begin to break up the group. With the teams separated, Audentes will find themselves feeling... angry. Perhaps vengeful. As if there were spirits influencing them. They will begin to turn on whoever they're with, deciding now is the time to air their grievances. (This can affect all characters in a thread or just one.) Only once characters are aware they're being controlled will they be able to resist, and only once they are able to strongly resist will they be able to break the spirits' hold on them. But be careful: if you stick around too long afterwards, the spirit might try to take vengeance on you. Audentes and Kittypaw finally manage to meet back up when the paths converge once again, but their luck does not last for long. Cassie leads the group fearlessly ahead, but is forced to stop when a shadowy figure crawls in the darkness. And another one... and another one. The large beetles and spiders who live in the mine have come out of hiding, surrounding the team from all angles. Their bites are venomous, and they spit acid that burns to the touch. Their skin is hard, like metal, and nearly impossible to pierce. It's no wonder so many miners lost their lives down here with these monsters preying on them. The numbers are too overwhelming and the creatures too strong. The group has no choice. They have to run if they want any chance to get to Arbatel and the TIMELINE.exe. The creatures follow in fast pursuit, hungry for their next meal now that Arbatel is no longer sending miners to their dooms. The more they run, the more apparent it becomes that escape is futile. It seems there is only one option left: become these monsters' food. At least, that's how it seems; the group stops, barely fighting off their attackers, and Cassie says, “Go, now!” She reaches into her pocket and shouts, “Hey! Over here!” as she runs in the opposite direction, diverting the creatures' attention long enough for the team to get a head start. She takes her hand out of her pocket and raises it, holding an explosive. “Eat rainbows and die!” Flamboyant as ever, her explosion causes a beautiful, swirling rainbow effect, knocking Audentes over. When they regain their bearings, the area where Cassie and the monsters stood is caved in. Cherenkov, Crowley, Dagny, and Uruz are quiet for the rest of the walk. The group finally comes across an area of the mine that is significantly more sculpted than the rest, hollowed out around a large, glowing crystal. Around the crystal is a catwalk, with a ladder leading up to it. On the catwalk are tables containing various arcane items, blueprints for inventions, computer parts, and other strange materials. This is certainly Arbatel's lab. Now it's time to find the man himself. FINDING ARBATEL The castle is falling apart on the inside, too, despite the servants he has put to work. Some of them resemble Edgar, but others seem to belong to other species; some are even human. All of them are pale, malnourished, and cower in Audentes's presence. None of them appear to have any sinister motive or put up any sort of fight, although they're all too afraid to speak as well. The castle is full of oddities: a bookshelf full of books in languages no one has ever heard of, paintings with colors no one has seen before. It's worth it to inspect everything. In fact, one inspection in particular is particularly lucky -- one removal of a book from a bookshelf causes a wall to slide back, revealing a set of stairs that ascend upwards. Hey, all secret lairs need a secret door. Start up the stairs, and a woman in gold and white armor appears at the top. She waves her hand and the wall quickly slides back into place, blocking the staircase again. Except, unfortunately, for the two who happened to be in front: Jon and Loki are now trapped on the other side of the wall with the mysterious woman. No matter how many books are removed, shuffled, or shoved back into the shelves, the wall won't open again. The team will have to find another way to get through. Meanwhile, Jon and Loki are left alone to confront the woman, who introduces herself as Hagith. She is Theodor Arbatel's younger daughter and, unlike her long-dead sister Ophiel, completely loyal to Zymandis. Enhanced with cybernetic bones and organs, she is gifted in magic and is a dangerous foe even for Jon. While they're engaged in battle, an older man appears from a door just beyond the landing. Loki, sure this is the man they've been looking for all this time, wields his sword of truth at the ready... As for the rest of the team, poking through the rest of the castle will eventually find a small passage behind a painting -- it's six feet up and roughly the size of a ventilation shaft, so the only way to get up there is teamwork, and the only way to get through is by crawling, one by one, through the pitch black labyrinth. The passageway conveniently ends right on the other side of the wall, where -- luckily for the claustrophobic on the team -- there is a lever that will make the wall slide back again, revealing the hidden stairs. It's just in time, too: a wounded Jon stands over the dead knight, her windpipe crushed, watching as Loki needles a distinguished-looking man with Gram, the sword of truth. It's a disquieting scene, but it's necessary: the man is Arbatel, the Leader of Zymandis, and he owes ALASTAIR some answers. “This blade is doused in Dragon’s Blood,” Loki says as he turns the sword in Arbatel’s wound; “it forces someone to tell the truth. It always hurts.” Arbatel gazes at his daughter’s body as he answers all questions posed to him, both from Loki and from those shouted from the expedition: His true name is Theodor Arbatel, and that has always been the truth. He comes from a world that he has long since forgotten, his lifetime lengthened to thousands of years by personal experimentation with a sort of proto-magitek. The longer he lived, the more chaos he saw in Zymandis’s attempts at solving the Cataclysm; it would be better, in his eyes, if the entire multiverse were purged and purified, allowed to start anew, instead of simply bandaging an already sick and chaotic thing. And when he updated the TIMELINE.exe machine, its new calculations only proved what he thought: the universe would start again if ushered to a total collapse. As the rest of Zymandis followed his machine’s update, he rose through its ranks to become the Leader; those who didn’t believe in the truth were executed or run out of Zymandis until a faction that would become ALASTAIR stole an earlier version of his creation and fled. Including, he notes with distaste, his daughter Ophiel. His quest to end this tainted universe and usher in a new, better universe had millions -- possibly even billions -- of casualties, he estimates. He recalls all the miners he remorselessly sent to their deaths in the pursuit of the temporal crystal in his laboratory. Arbatel has studied such crystals for centuries; there are many types, he explains, but only one of this particular kind. It is the only one capable of undoing all of Zymandis's work. His life's work. He would send ten times as many miners to die if it meant protecting that crystal. He would have killed his own daughters. As Arbatel’s confession continues, he becomes more and more affected by the blade of Gram, as to suffer this blade is to suffer the truths one has denied. The way he has twisted his own nihilism into being the only truth, refusing to look for other alternatives, ignoring the pleas of his elder daughter. As Loki told him, the truth hurts. And in this case, the truth has killed Theodor Arbatel. He falls to the ground, lifeless. With this bloody business done, there's a few minutes to rest and patch any lingering wounds. The rest of the expedition begins to filter in at this point, missing a few of their number and looking a little rough around the edges. From the ex-Zymandis agents' wristwatches, the Ophiel AI speaks: the TIMELINE.exe is in the next room. TEMPORAL STORM Behind the door, now unguarded, is the Mechanical Room -- a gigantic warehouse stuffed with cables and gigantic computers and hundreds of CRT monitors. The room is warm and there's a constant whirring of machinery, ever present but quiet enough that it can fade into the background like white noise. Upon entering the room, recruits will be greeted by the monitors all flashing threatening messages in unison: GET OUT and INTRUDERS and ALERT, among others. Outside the door, Arbatel and Hagith's jewelcomms beep frantically: the TIMELINE.exe is asking for assistance that will never come. Thankfully, the corrupted TIMELINE.exe machine has no actually effective means of defense, so ALASTAIR is free to do what must be done: upload TIM's new update, the ver. 1.0.03 file. Installing the update is a simple task, but will require every ALASTAIR recruit's participation: extend one's jewelcomm toward the TIMELINE.exe, and the magitek will do the rest. The interfacing is ephemeral and beautiful, strands of visible code streaming through the air like beams of sunlight. It only takes a moment, and once it's done, the TIMELINE.exe's screen go dark. And then, a second later: Hello World ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ It's a success: Zymandis's machine has been overwritten by TIM. Without a leader or their destruction-focused TIMELINE.exe, Zymandis is dead. But before there can be much excitement, TIM uses his new monitors to explain that there is still the matter of the impending destruction of this world and its universe, owing to the temporal crystal deep in the mine under the castle. The temporal crystal must be destroyed. The energy it saps simply to sustain its own existence keeps the universe fractured; when all of the research conducted by both ALASTAIR and Zymandis scientists is combined, TIM is able to hypothesize that shattering the crystal and releasing the energy into the universe will cause a surge large enough to charge a merging. After the Cataclysm, each universe continued to split into thousands of fractured universes, all nearly identical save for small differences. The energy meant to sustain one universe was now split across thousands, ebbing and flowing and never quite enough. The merging, however, would combine each of those identical universes into one... allowing them to run on full energy. In short: destroying the crystal should merge the fractured universes, allowing them to sustain themselves without ALASTAIR intervention. The solution is simple, but will require a lot of elbow grease: using materials found throughout Arbatel’s lab, create a positronic bomb and detonate the temporal crystal. The resulting explosion, as Arbatel said, will be the opposite of destruction. Once the bomb is all set, it’s probably a smart thing to head topside before its detonation. Don’t worry about leaving TIM behind -- his consciousness in this machine is linked with the machine in Oska, so he won’t be harmed. The same is not exactly true for the rest of the expedition. When the bomb goes off, there’s a blinding blue flash and a deafening silence. The world -- the universe -- no, the fabric of reality shakes and trembles; the sky swirls; the ground churns. It only lasts a handful of seconds, but the turmoil seems like an endless epoch. And then everything clears; the ravaged, once-crumbling world is still and silent. Though the platforms of earth still sail peacefully through the air, there is no more lava and no more shaking. The destruction of this universe has been halted. More than that, though, the instability of the multiverse has been halted. Instead of a sprawling, infinite multiverse filled with infinite timelines, the minutely different universes have been merged. This may result in some nausea or confusion as the expedition’s own minutely alternate realities meld with their own, though there won’t be any identity crises or conflicting memories. You’re still you. But more importantly, this means the multiversal energy crisis is over. ALASTAIR can use its rift machines without needing to conserve precious energy. You can go home, if you’d like... but you might want to head to Oska first. LATER... After what might have been the longest day of their lives, the group returns to Oska for a well-deserved celebration... after any injuries are tended to. They are, of course, commended by the rest of ALASTAIR for their bravery and dedication. There's a feast, but considering how tired everyone is, there's no wild party. Just quiet contentment. An older ALASTAIR member, a man with dark hair and a prim demeanor, stands up to give a speech. “For thousands of years, we have endeavored to right the wrong caused by the Cataclysm. Tonight, we have finally achieved that goal. ALASTAIR's purpose was solely to maintain order as best we could, even in the face of impossible odds. Now, that is no longer necessary. This is a beginning of a new and better multiverse... but it is an ending, too. I suppose it is time to disband ALASTAIR, once and for all.” The crowd murmurs. It's all a blur of words, but the general gist can be picked up. Should they really disband ALASTAIR? Could they? There isn't anything left for them to do, after all. We could all go home to our families. “This is not a loss. This is a win. I vote that today be ALASTAIR's last official day of operation. Those who agree with me, raise your hands.” A large majority of the crowd raises their hands. “The matter is settled, then. Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow... tomorrow, we go home.” He sits and resumes speaking to those sitting beside him, and it seems the discussion is over... until a red-headed girl barges in through the double doors, eyes wild. To say she looks frazzled is to put it kindly. “You guys have to hear this. The merging? It worked. No more energy being drained. But the universes, they're... having trouble adjusting, I guess. Look.” She projects her magitek onto the wall, showing clips of protests, fires, war. In one world, two queens vie for the same crown. In another, dinosaurs seem to roam the earth again. “We've gotta do something, right?” The room quiets. For a moment, it seems no one is going to answer her. Finally, a woman answers. “We've done all we can. It's time to stop interfering with other worlds. I'm returning home.” Others grumble in agreement. A select few disagree. The girl scowls. “Oh, please.” She gestures to Audentes. “You just saved the freakin' multiverse. And it's all gonna turn to crap if we don't fix it. So...” She smiles sheepishly. “What do you say? Partners?” OOC NOTES And that wraps it up for Season 1 of Futurology! The action portion of the log will last roughly five IC hours. If you have any questions about this log, please direct them to the dossier. We know it's a long one, so don't be shy! For those of you who will be staying with us on to Season 2, will be releasing a calendar on what to expect for the next two months sometime in late November. For those of you who are heading off at the conclusion of Season 1 or those who have dropped already, thank you for participating in our game! Futurology is what it is because of every single one of you. NOTE: HMD and AC will be posted on schedule (18 November and 1 December, respectively), so don't forget! Participation is mandatory if you would like to remain in the game.

Comments

[grunehexe]

[Run.

That word strikes almost more fear into her than the actual spider beasts, thin legs bowed inward, bony knees quaking. Once upon a time, she hadn't even been able to walk, but after Nalawi she'd had the bound limbs rebroken and unfolded. She could walk now, and carefully shuffle at a faster pace, but running-]

I cannot-

[No, correction, she could try, but-

Anxiously, her hands jerk into motion and reach for the pouch at her waist, diving in for something.]

One moment, I just need one moment-

[purrtagonist]

You can't?

[he doesn't question her response, merely echoes her words back at her for confirmation. if that's the case, then he was more than happy to summon a Persona to carry her away if necessary. but before he can make the suggestion? her hand dips towards her waist, fingers reaching for that pouch]

[he presses his palm against his mask again, the imp creature bursting to life to send a spider flying before it can get too close and snap at their heels. if a moment is what she needs? then he'll give her twenty]

All right! I'll hold them off!

[grunehexe]

[The words don't come out yet, so she just nods quickly, urgently, saving her nerve strung breath for the words, for the magic she pulls out of her pouch.

It's not magic yet, though, it's jewels. Shining, glittering clear crystals that surely would belong better on a tiara or lady's necklace, but she instead she tears her attention away from what he might be doing, from the beasts, anxiously pulling a knife from the chain she wore about her waist and slicing open her palm, placing the jewels in the blood that welled up there.

Hurry, she had to hurry-]

Oh, ed gad baal. Oh, eaoh. Oh, eo sol. Oh, eo mani.

[The breath she'd saved came out in words, stuttering but it was enough force, the jewels beginning the dye a crimson red as bright as the blood in her palm.

One moment, just one moment, they were almost fully dyed-]

[purrtagonist]

[he's only half-paying attention to what she's doing. he doesn't see the glint of the knife yanked from its chain, doesn't see the splash of red that stains her palm. he does hear the mumbled words tumble from her mouth, all in some sort of foreign language of which he can't make heads or tails. but that's fine. she's doing her thing, and he's doing his, and he needs to focus]

[especially since one of the beetles rams headfirst into Ongyo-Ki, sending the imp skidding back and nearly crashing into Akira himself. the thief grits his teeth, swipes his arm through the air, and recalls his Persona with another swirl of flame]

Mother Harlot!

[a new one appears, a skeleton queen sitting upon a throne of crowned beasts. an ice attack suddenly bursts forth from the ground underneath the beetles and spiders, freezing their limbs to the dirt and immobilizing them for the briefest of moments. the Mabufudyne sucks a good chunk of breath from Akira's lungs, and he inhales sharply to replace it, trying to ignore the oncoming fatigue that threatens to make him dizzy]

Hurry!

[he can only keep this up for so long]

[grunehexe]

[Hurry, hurry-

Her feet are slightly misshapen despite having unbound them so many missions ago, thanks to her insistence that it be done with only natural methods. Her nerves were damaged, and her balance touch and go, but while she couldn't run... she could walk, stumble, and crawl.

So she stumbles, the jewels clutched in her hands, managing to reach the wall as he summons, where she lays a blood-soaked crystal. One.

She stumbles again, laying crystals as she goes, whispering in old Gaelic under her breath as she goes, narrowing her vision to her own task... until there is only one left in her hand, and a single hole in the line from wall to wall in the tunnel.]

It is done- come!

[Pale, she gestures him quickly over to her side, through the line.]

[purrtagonist]

[and with that? Joker recalls Mother Harlot with another wave of his hand and runs, turning swiftly on his heel to bolt through the hole in the line Sieglinde created. and it's good timing, too. the creatures use their steel-covered legs and appendages to shatter the ice binding them to the ground. they swarm forward like a tidal wave, threatening to overtake Joker if he shows even an ounce of exhaustion]

[once he's past the line of crystals, he turns to face his teammate]

Okay! Do your thing!

[grunehexe]

[The second Akira crosses the broken line, Sieglinde slams the last bloodstained crystal into place, and a crimson line springs into existance, connecting each stone in a line from wall to wall. A line that seems to rpeal the spiders, making them hiss and recoil from it as if it was something they feared.

But it wouldn't last long.

She turns to Akira with her fear barely suppressed, reaching up with both arms, as a child does when asking to be carried.]

We do not have much time. Please-

[She cannot run.]

[purrtagonist]

[good]

That was some quick thinking. Good job.

[he exhales those words between sharp breaths, his chest and shoulders heaving with sharp gasps. despite the visible exhaustion, he doesn't hesitate. when she reaches for him, he strides towards her, hoisting her into his arms bridal style]

[with Sieg held close, he backpedals away from where the spiders and beetles ricochet off of the crystal wall]

Hold on so you don't fall--

[and then he's off, bolting down the tunnel, trying to catch up with their fellow teammates]

[grunehexe]

[He praises her, but she cannot accept it. Certainly not yet, when they are still in danger, when she is a burden like she always is, unable to run for herself or do much more than defend or heal.

So she clings to his neck and shoulder, fingers clutching at his clothing, curling in to make herself as small and portable as possible- not so difficult, when even for a thirteen year old girl she is small and slight.]

Thank you-

[purrtagonist]

[she isn't difficult to carry at all, and he finds that her petite frame makes it easy for him to move at full speeds. he can still hear the monsters behind them, and there are no teammates ahead. he just hopes they didn't lose them in all the commotion]

How long will that wall last?

[grunehexe]

If they do not have the intelligence-

[To counteract her spell, to find a way around it...]

A minute, maybe two-

[Never enough.]

[purrtagonist]

[maybe not to her. but for him?]

Even a two minute headstart is enough for me.

[his boots skid against the ground, kicking up dirt and rock, as he rounds a corner. his grip on Sieglinde tightens, so as not to drop her in his sudden shit in direction]

[grunehexe]

[Sieglinde opens her mouth to question it, but he shifts and her teeth click shut- coinciding with the moment she thinks better of talking at all. He didn't need the distraction.

So she curls as tight as possible in his arms, biting into her lip as she hopes that either her spell is stronger than she thought, or that he was fast enough.]

[purrtagonist]

[a flash of purple suddenly appears at the end of the tunnel, and Akira finds himself perking up in relief. team]

[and it's good timing, too. because from the sounds of scratching echoing off the walls, of clattering and hissing and many legs moving across dirt and rock? the beetles and spiders are closing in on them again]

Where are they even coming from??

[grunehexe]

[The flash of color from the uniforms many of their team chose to wear is a relief, but that feeling is negated at the sight of even more enemies. Not knowing she can expect one of Kittypaw's leader's to take a stand any moment, Sieglinde feels a clench of fear clasp around her small heart, gaze darting about anxiously.]

There must be more tunnels, more paths-

[purrtagonist]

Shit--

[and that's when their path to their teammates is cut off]

[a metallic-plated spider drops down from the ceiling in front of them, all legs and venomous pincers and sharp pointy bits. Joker skids to a halt to avoid a collision, backpedaling to put space between him, Sieglinde, and the bloodthirsty creature]

[they were so close, but until Cassie makes her stand? there's one more obstacle they have to cross before they reach freedom]

Hell, they really are everywhere!

[grunehexe]

[His curse is echoed in a softer, higher pitch as Sieglinde physically flinches away from their new arrival- at least, as much as the circle of his arms allows.]

Just-

[She tries to spit out some request for him to dodge, or move, but they can't waste the time and she can't waste the breath as the thing lunges, so she switches halfway to a spell, her hands moving in the air as if tying a knot that only she can see.]

Constringo vos!

[Another barrier springs up, this one centered like a bubble around Sieglinde herself... but that is enough to encompass him as well, if just barely.

Enough to have the spider's stabbing front legs glancing off the nearly invisible shield. If just barely.]