Inkpocalypse-Aftermath
Hei remained still for a few moments after Lucy said her piece, before he wrapped the girl in a hug and pressed his lips on her head. "I...I understand." he replied quietly. "I j-just need some time to process the...the fact that I w-was this close to losing you. If I w-was just a little later...." Hei didn't notice that he was shaking slightly as he tightened his hold on Lucy. "I d-don't think I could bear losing you either, Lucy. You were m-my first friend, the one w-who made me willing to try speaking with others...Thanks to y-you, I found love, and I'm t-terrified of losing it."
Hei paused to steady his breathing, and noticed some strange movement near the makeshift gravestones Sam had carved for E-Lucy and his alternate self. Standing in front of "his" gravestone was a grey translucent boy dressed in a tattered hoodie and ragged jeans, sunken black and silver eyes that stood out from in his gaunt face gazed locked onto Hei and Lucy's figures in what seemed to be solem wistfulness, and maybe a touch of envy.
The umbrakinetic felt his heart jump slightly upon locking eyes with his alternate self's ghost...especially when the spirit mouthed a short message to him.
Thank you...for succeeding...where I failed' The spirit told him as it crouched in front of E-Lucy's gravestone and fading away into nothingness. Hei blinked at that, and wondered if he was more out of it than he thought, if hallucinations(?) were trying to reassure him.
AKA Nixer
???
Lucy let out an exhausted sigh, shutting her eyes at the kiss to the forehead and returning the hug tightly for a moment, before slightly relaxing her grip to look over at the crosses. If she had seen the remaining echo of the alternate Hei, she didn't make any indication of it, and let the silence continue for a little longer before kissing Hei on the lips and slowly pulling away.
“...Th-thank you. I love you,” she reiterated with a watery smile, before reluctantly retreating back to the others. As much as she was still reeling, they needed to get out of here. The stench of ink and decay was getting to be suffocating, and being trapped in a realm barren of life wasn't exactly the most heroic way to go.
Overhearing Sam's concern, she silently caused the ink around them to retreat away from the floor and back to the walls of the room, hardening them as reinforcement. She could do the rest of the school once they got to it. She was too tired to try and pulse out the environment like when she was remote controlling a doll. It was a new technique, and she'd yet to refine it down to the little mental effort it took to control the ink in her direct sight.
“I'd say I'd like any place other than here, but what with multiverse theory there's probably a realm where everything's the same as here except the school is perpetually on fire and the moon has liquefied. But, still – if we end up somewhere at the very least okay we'd be able to get some rest. Best to look on the bright side, especially after this.”
And ignore the if part.
Edited by Enirboreh on Jul 26th 2018 at 5:07:00 PM
bork
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Ymedaca Tnias
If Mahvash noted Lucy nestling into Lin's forehead kiss in marked contrast to hers, she gave no indication. What did occupy her attention, sans Sam, Class 1 stayed curled up in Loud-Lu's dorm long even now.
Sigh. The daeva kept her straight face, even with the lights receding and the swirling, slowly expanding miasmas eating at anything and everything. "I appreciate your moments, really, and I'll join you shortly, but as said, Begone." She held back only a tad in blowing them away—well sucking them away with a negative pressure tunnel and giving them a somewhat not-too-hard landing in the yard. "And cavort in the training room if you must do that right now."
She herself took a moment to lean against the wall when the others had gone, and yet another to right the ice cross. "I'm certain you wouldn't have me touch that, Cinnamon Roll." She idly felt around the room. "Alas, I have responsibilities. You are one." She gathered a small assortment of Lucy's things and a large glopnote of ink before shuffling off.
The dorms lay not clean, messy as one would expect and also suffering from Lu-Two's ink fetish, but hardly disheveled from struggles. Freaking Lucy took down the others in open combat? Huh. And here I intended to kill them in their sleep when they inevitably crossed me. Aware that she had sent the others off in the interest of time, the daeva gathered things from the dorms quickly enough. Ever Green, as usual, was most difficult. All she kept was greenery, and none of it made it to the present time and space. Grimacing a bit, she simply made Ever Green's room the center. Then the bodies from the trench.
"I don't care to absolve people of transgressions, and I don't appreciate purity rites like this..." She lit the part of the dorm alight anyway, a fire trench separating Samuel's American-style burial from not-her-own but the style of Lucy's ancestor. The daeva had no apology forthcoming, for the simple fact that she never (sincerely) would, for she never spent much time regretting her actions. Maybe how they turned out disappointed her, but experience was experience. Similarly, no words lost on how she was rather used to things trying to kill her, well daily now & continuously in the past, hence the words, 'I don't care.'
About any words would be lessened, given Lu-Two had already died. What she did say, "What I do...well, I'm just starting out the goddess-errant thing and borrowing the archenemy's means of send-off. All the same, you needn't bear responsibility for your transgressions all alone, even if other you gave you an earful. I have myriad, that's my job, and I thrive under their weight." Pointless, given how she spent her recent days. But maybe it'll help me think of something. "And don't go getting any ideas about how you're a match for me. I don't know what banana peel other-me slipped over for the fight to go that way. As for other me..."
There, Mahvash had a litany of words to deliver to her other, but she pursed her lips and sent a bunch of tendrils to encompass her other. "You're not excused, but that's our nature. But, I'm impressed that I exist in more than one permutation of reality, let alone live through those early days, only for you to let someone else do this renovation." If I had that old video camera, I could probably impress on my siblings that Victory Is Boring.
Ymedaca Tnias - Training Room
Mahvash arrived nonchalantly considering the time spent on her task, towing a wagon into the ruined training room. She really only regretted not keeping Remix around to watch her lug the thing through the ruined terrain. In any case, while making a pyre, she ended up folding clothes and things into her wagon. And segued to the library and labs before returning. Who knew where they'd end up next?
Though first they'd have to actually power the room up. Either Ellie will be at work, or I'll drag her by the ear... Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Deranged X-Mas Figure
???
Meanwhile, Ellie was at work powering up the training room. She was sidled up to the wall and pouring electricity into the nearest outlet as suggestively as possible. If she was going to do menial labor, she was going to do it with style.
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Ymedaca Tnias
"..." Mahvash only momentarily glossed over Ellie, gliding past her without a backwards glance to tend to the predictably ruined console. Of course. If only I could have told Rostam his contemporary would grow up to be another berserk barbarian. ...Or perhaps, better that I never encountered him.
Well, presumably I just need to condense enough hardlight into a small point. Pretty much the same concept behind black hole starships. She turned the few dials that were intact, and found results from the fewer still that actually activated lasers. I don't need a sim, just alot of photons and alot of energy to make one singularity. They had zero chance of tracing the previous wormhole exactly: Einstein–Rosen bridges didn't leave jet trails; the tools to trace the prior one were not available; and at least one demon had tried to open portals mid-way through the training's room portal. All variables.
"We're leaving this realm, immediately. To return straight home though, the odds are long." The daeva says it flatly, without even a soft tone. "All the class has to do was traverse the bridge before it closes and we can all avoid becoming popping elementary particles smeared across the quantum foam of a thousand realities."
She finally got the lasers arranged to concentrate on a single point and cram mass and energy into it. And if there's not still exotic mass swirling around from the demons' teleportation mishap, or their presence doesn't do it...eh, it'll be fine. "That machine is on, we're to traverse as quickly as possible, and anyone who is not present when it opens and closes again may stay."
Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 26th 2018 at 9:02:57 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam simply made a chain and linked the entire group together.
"At least, let's try to stay together and not end up in completely different universes" He said "Anyone else wants to help with that?"
Looking at everyone else, he said something simple.
"We may end up having to split up at some point, particularly if this doesn't send us to our world" He admitted to the others "So, try to not leave anyone go on their own, please"
Wake me up at your own risk.
You Know Where
"Well, wish me luck!" Remix said, and then skated right off into the unknown without regrets.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Ymedaca Tnias—Training Room/Stargate 2-1
Mahvash gave the chain around her wagon a look before descending. "You have it well in hand," she nodded to Samuel before lightly shoving Lucy under the covering. "You, bed miss. No buts. You've been jumping around with a fever and a cough for hours. There's a pallet in the middle of the boxes, and don't kiss Lin until you cease to match the internal body temperature of Mikael. Sam can make you an ice pack..." Hm. While smiling at Remix's chutzpah and faith in charging in, he did make crossing more ugrent. "when we arrive."
The daeva strode in, towing the wagon with no more hesitation than Edgar. I can write up the Kruskal-Szekeres coordinates and turn a chart of our route in for Rienbach's class and the science fair, write on the nails that changed here for theories of justice and goodness, and I can write up the interactions of the dimensional gate with demonic teleportation for the magic project. Bozo never talks about magitek. Let's break the mold!.
Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 27th 2018 at 5:07:27 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam just shrugged.
"Well, next world it is" He said, walking in "We spun the roulette, let's see the prize"
Wake me up at your own risk.
Breath of the Sun
"I don't care where we go, as long as I can turn into a guy again at some point. It feels weird being stuck in one form like this." Mikael grumbled, following them in.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
AKA Nixer
???
Lucy sent a look towards Matten as she lightly shoved her towards the cart, but she complied, crawling inside and settling into a laying position. Now that the last of Sardar's willpower had faded, she was feeling the full backlash of her flu, as well as her physical and mental fatigue. So much so, that she found herself asleep in moments.
Now, Lucy always had... odd dreams. Vivid dreams. Dreams in which, strangely, she was self-aware. David had mentioned how he was plagued by a similar phenomenon whenever she had awakened him while he was younger, so she could only assume it was a hereditary thing. Maybe another phenomena of Sardar.
But that was besides the point. The thing of interest was the dream itself. She was running away from the looming presence of the Entity's shadowy face, watching from an external position as her dream self ran directly towards her. Abruptly, however, she whirled around and stabbed the Entity with a knife, conveniently having situated itself in her palm.
Symbolically, it was easy to deduce. The pursuit indicated how the Entity was a problem still rearing its head. Her running from it showcased her reluctance to face it. The external positioning of her sight of the sequence illustrated her feeling of detachment over her actions. But the counterattack... that was different. Plus she could have sworn an exaggerated look of realisation crossed her dream self's face seconds before.
Perhaps, she thought, it signified a revelation. The newfound confidence to fight back against her demons. The perspective was still third-person, as she still felt as if this raising of self worth had been out of her control (and it had been, mostly – more of an instinctive counter to the stresses of SA), but the act was still effective.
The Entity was still looming, but it had been pushed back. It was... relieving.
The second dream was much more pleasant. It showcased her and Hei in a beautiful house (one she recognized as modelled after a home that one of her grandmothers had lived in – and one she had been raised in for much of her early life), a particularly exaggerated representation of a wedding ring on her finger. The perspective was first-person this time, and felt much more warm and interpersonal, but Hei's form was fuzzy and non-specific, with the exception of a few notable facial features. Interesting. This one was self-explanatory, and the pitter-patter and playful yelling from the floorboards above was a clear message as well.
The final dream was... off. Simply her within the masses of a large crowd, of all ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds, once more in first-person. Light was trickling from their forms, converging into a colossal ball of shifting energy above them, the connections of pure neon white pulsing like blood vessels to a heart. She looked down, and noticed how a beam of light was emanating from her as well.
And next to her, directly on her right, Hei Lin was as well. He smiled at her, and winked.
But his face was not his.
No face in the large throng was correct, even.
Suddenly, her vision had pulled out, and revolved around. Sure enough, her face had been replaced too.
Her now half-awake brain pegged onto how simply wrong this all was, and she snapped awake again, her heart racing like a jackhammer in her chest. She clasped her hands over it, forcing her breathing to steady, before shaking her head and generating a large glob of ink from her pores, causing it to shift into a humanoid shape resembling the one she had formed in the training room before the whole interdimensional transportation incident had occurred. It promptly left the cart, and began pushing.
It did the trick. By focusing her mind on something more practical, she had successfully avoided overthinking in her already tired state. Yes, the doll was clearly groggy, but it was more a tool to soothe her into a deeper, less dream-filled rest. If it collapsed, she'd be happy that she tried to help despite her state, but she couldn't ignore her exhaustion.
Edited by Enirboreh on Jul 27th 2018 at 10:43:23 AM
bork
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Saint Academy Training Room (???)
As soon as everyone stepped towards the bright light ushering them forth into the gulf between dimensions, they found themselves stepping out of it just as quickly. They were still in the Training Room, only it seemed to be yet another version of it. Unlike the one they had just come from, this one was still running. On top of that, it was somehow even more sophisticated than the one from back home. Most importantly, compared to the hellhole of a world they just been in, this one actually seemed decent. Pristine even.
In any case, that wasn't the most alarming thing. As the light began to fade, they soon found themselves surrounded by a throng of young faces. They all seemed to be around their age and fellow students like themselves, but none of them were familiar. There were also less humans and more non-humans than they were used to, none of whom batted an eye at Vicki or Sam's more bestial appearances. Not that it stopped them from wondering who these strange newcomers were and why they were here.
Thankfully, they wouldn't have to put up with this for long. The various students soon found themselves shoved and pushed aside as a familar face marched toward them, still just as gruff and no-nonsense as ever. Before they knew it, they were once again face-to-face with a glaring Interceptor. He stared at Class 1, sizing them up as he circled around them like a predator before stopping in his tracks.
"Let me guess. Class 1, right? Though I guess you aren't our Class 1, are you? Or maybe I'm just hallucinating."
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam only sighed, looking around the new Training Room.
"Pretty much" He answered, resignedly "I'll bite, this is SA, but not ours, obviously"
With a look, he unchained his classmates.
Edited by Blueace on Jul 27th 2018 at 11:46:32 AM
Wake me up at your own risk.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Saint Academy 03 - Training Room
Ewww... such a pristine, sterile character, but I can just imagine Loud-Lu's den when I get my hands on Remix.
"Yes, we are Class One of Saint Academy," Mahvash answered not bothering to follow yet another circling twit with her eyes. "No, you do not need to guess nor move like a crawling thing from Animal Planet."
The daeva prepared her still loose jacket. "I am Mahvash Matten Mattiuza, and you are likely called Interceptor, but more importantly, you are disturbing resting kids under my care." Her hair shuffled some while the air stilled. "Hospitality demands that we won't offer you harm, having just stepped through a spacetime warp into your realm and all, but that is mutual."
Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 27th 2018 at 12:46:52 PM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Saint Academy 2: Apocalyptic Boogaloo —> Saint Academy 3-D
As they went through the bad world, Caleb and Harmony were similarly conflicted. They were horrified, sure - Caleb almost threw up on seeing the corpses - but there was an odd curiosity. They knew they wouldn't like what they found out but they still wanted to know more about this world and how it had gone wrong. But, not getting any such opportunity before lives were in danger, they didn't and eventually just followed the others through their new portal.
As they arrived in the next training room, their faces brightened a bit. This one looked nicer, maybe they'd get a chance to find something out.
"Alternate universes! Didn't like the last one, it wasn't ours, so we made a portal but this one isn't ours either!"
Surrounded by weirdoes
Keeping an eye on the students, trying to find some semblance of familiarity, Sam decided to ask the important question.
"What year it is?" He asked, tentatively to Interceptor, trying to gauge reactions. "Well, we had a mishap in the training room, as you know, so, if there is a way out, or at least some medicine of Lucy and maybe Lin, it would be great" He said, trying to be as straightforward as possible.
As long as no one is hostile, this might work
Wake me up at your own risk.
Breath of the Sun
Saint Academy, Technically
"...aaand I still can't teleport or turn back." Mikael glared down at her own breasts, as though they were at fault for her current predicament. "So should we fire up the wormhole again until we get home? Or are there people here who could actually help us? Maybe another version of Mahvash?"
She was mostly thinking aloud, but she did nod at Interceptor to acknowledge his presence. She'd leave her classmates to do the talking - she wasn't in any mood to deal with other people at the moment.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Training Room(???)
Interceptor looked at Mikael as though she'd just asked a rather stupid question. "I'm going to wager a guess and say 'Mavash' only exists in your reality. Because as far as I can tell, she doesn't exist in this one. Or at the very least has never attended this school."
He looked at the others. "The rest of you though have. Or at least used to. I don't know what year it is in your reality, but here it's 2027. And a lot of things have changed." He took another look at Mikael. "For starters, you don't have boobs. Though I guess that goes without saying."
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
AKA Nixer
Training Room (???)
It was around this point that Lucy tentatively peeked out from underneath the sheet covering the cart, looking a little better for even her brief rest. After a moment of studying the new class and Interceptor's interaction and explanation, she swallowed nervously, before discreetly crawling out, seeming to shrivel up a little into herself under the sight of the strange new class and pulling up her hood in order to somewhat hide her still sick face.
As she had no need for it at that present moment, the ink doll that had helped push the cart collapsed, before its mass crawled over like a living thing and clambered up her, latching upon the bare skin on her neck and absorbing through her pores.
So Matten isn't here... that's strange...
“W-we're really sorry if we interrupted you – we just went through something horrible, a-and we wanted to get out as soon as we could... w-we didn't mean to intrude...” she muttered respectfully, ducking her head down a fraction.
bork
Surrounded by weirdoes
So, on the future. This is probably bad. On the other hand, the future tends to be written in the sand, so anything they learn here may not apply. So, let's see how it goes.
"We are from 2017 in our world" He said, in the end "And I think it's better to leave you to your class, so, any place we can discuss the whole thing more calmly?" He said, rather sheepishly.
Things like Matten not existing were odd, but they'll have to deal with it. Just, please, don't do anything stupid, guys.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Training Room- Future
"Y-yes, somewhere with less eyes...would be appreciated." Hei muttered as he shied away from the eyes of this unknown Class 1. Not just because he was feeling timid from the attention, but also because he was starting to feel a little under the weather after the high-emotion situations of the previous world had passed: Already, he could feel a slight pounding in his head.
Aw shit, did I catch Lucy's flu? And all that running and fighting probably didn't help things He thought to himself, grabbing a medicine bottle from one of his gates, checking the expiration date and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. Well there goes that idea.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Saint Academy Version 3- Training Room
"How kind of you to notice Mikael's condition immediately," Mahvash pursed her lips a moment before resuming a straight expression and folding her hands behind her back. "Happy 10 New Years' to you and this greeting is going on for too long a time."
"In the spirit of hospitality, we'll ask you for quarter for a short time to rest and refresh." Sam had already blurted out Lucy and Lin's condition, but no need to give more specifics. This place only looked clean and shiny, which was already a mark against. And when they finally do leave, it'll be into a yet unknown place. So, they could take a chance on resting.
"If we may, Mikael, Lucy, and Lin would visit your nurse and your mage?" While staying together, she abruptly sent to Lucy. Mikael had a high enough body temperature that he shouldn't be that susceptible to Flu viruses, and made a good complement to the wonder twins.
The daeva's gaze lingered on Interceptor. "We may gather in the cafeteria and talk things over, if you have questions for us, and we shall leave as soon as practical."
Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 29th 2018 at 11:25:57 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Deranged X-Mas Figure
MSA 2027, Training Room
"Fair enough," said Interceptor. "Layout hasn't changed that much. Assuming you didn't come from some universe where everything's a hellhole, just about everything should be as you remember it. I'll also call up Reinbach. He's retired, but he still knows more interdimensional portals than anyone else."
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Surrounded by weirdoes
"Ended up on one" Sam said, his mood darkening as he talked "If we never end up in a place like that again, it'll be too soon" Walking up to help Hei steady himself, as well as giving Lucy a glance, he walked off to the cafeteria.
While he walked outside, he wondered what's up with his counterpart on this world. While he still wanted to be a hero, he didn't know whether he'd still wanted to be in the public eye at all, if he'd make friends, join a team or even get a girlfriend. And if he was honest to himself, he had doubts of what would he do each time his physical integrity was in risk. For all he knew, he'd take a bullet he could have stopped in its tracks with ease.
Shaking these thoughts off his mind, he was thankful no one would see him like he was right now. Taking a seat in the cafeteria, he took a deep breath. He won't fall apart. Not now, not ever.
Besides, whoever Samuel Everett is in this world, it's not him, just a stranger that looks like him.
Edited by Blueace on Jul 29th 2018 at 4:42:55 AM
Wake me up at your own risk.
"At this point, I am sure something will happen no matter what we do" Sam shrugged, wondering whether he should start making more markings. "But right now, I'd like some life, this kind of silence is unnerving"
Making an ice statue of the rest of the class (not counting himself) and teachers, he decided to see if the walls would hold on. As a pause, he decided to make one of Ellie. Focusing as hard as he could to make sure it'd be a long time before it melts. It's not much, but it's what he could do now.
"Hopefully we didn't cause the building to act like a house of cards" Walking inside, he wished things went better.
Wake me up at your own risk.