logsinthenight | EVENT CONCLUSION: BEYOND THE SEA

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EVENT CONCLUSION: BEYOND THE SEA

characters: everyone!!
location: in the helix station under the lake, and back to the surface! (hopefully)
date/time: july 19th ish
content: After successfully exploring the Helix Station, characters have all they need to deal with the world eater stuck in the portal down below. How are they going to do it? Click and find out!
warnings: injury, body horror, monster horror, blood, maiming, you know, the usual

game plan.

Based on the votes, the consensus is quite clear: it's time to see if a creature that can destroy worlds can be killed. Characters are well armed from the finds in the test lab. Having recovered Weaver from the R&D wing, they have her assistance in attempting to use the MK VIII to assist with this task. The Key Extraction group found strong potions that might help to pacify the creature long enough to fight it. They have all they can hope to in this impossible fight — the idea is simple. Open the doors, distract the monster with brute force and attempt to pacify it with the narcotics they've recovered, while Weaver does what she can to get the drone restarted and hopefully in place for a killing blow.

If things go badly, though, the team has all agreed on a Plan B. If the tides start to turn, then the group will finish what Alastair started and shunt that bad boy back into space. It's not possible for them to change the trajectory, the World Eater will end up back where it started. However, it won't be in their lake anymore, so that's still some sort of a win. As Weaver is controlling the drone remotely, she will be the one in the control room, and will run the reversal routine if the attack begins to fail. Cao Pi is in charge of the radio to call if things start going south. Hopefully someone taught him how to use it!

boss battle.

Javert, Fitz, and Law (armed with a key Weaver provided him), with a coordinated use of the lockdown keys, manage to open the Portal Bay. Even with power restored, it is practically pitch dark in the room. It's as if the World Eater trapped in the portal manages to suck in and contain any light that dares get too close. They can hardly see the monster before they brave entering the room, though as they walk deeper into the darkness the group can see its shadowy form lodged in the portal. It's trapped around the torso, with only a small part of it visible to the group. Impossibly huge, and perhaps somewhat reminiscent of something that might have resembled a green eyed spirit, once, though it has started growing new extremities and limbs, as well as a few more sets of eyes. It rouses as they enter, and just looking at the World Eater manages to send an unspeakable wave of unease, anxiety, and hopelessness through the group.

Gregor, Stone and Jill throw the fragile bottles of sedative. They crack and settle on the skin and wide empty eyes of the monster. While it's clear it did not incapacitate the World Eater, the mental effects lessen and its movements seem to slow.

With that, it's a free for all, all members of the party armed to the teeth and determined to fight for all they have. The weapons recovered by Cao Pi, Link, and Reiju prove especially useful, though as they cut and slash, the World Eater seems to recover new limbs, new tendrils, seem to generate at random. Like a hydra, every piece they cut down seems to restore itself. Braving closer to its torso leaves the creature leaking toxic black blood over the floor. Touching it proves it is bitterly caustic, easily burning through rubber and clothing and flesh alike. It's a bitter, ugly battle, and not without damage to the fighters themselves.

The fight seems doomed to fail, even with the World Eater slowed and mostly immobilized. It's more than just slashes, heavy hits that can send bodies flying across the room. A flash of attention can leave an attacker immobilized, dark swirling terror clawing through them strong enough that they might try to hurt themselves or their company instead of the monster itself. Worse yet, any time the World Eater seems to lull, it seems to draw the living energy from any lantern nearby, rousing itself and dampening the fighter that might have been feverishly fighting a second before.

However, with the distraction provided, Weaver successfully reactivates the MK VIII. It sounds much like a giant sized bumble bee, until it rockets through the air toward the monster. The beast manages to swat the drone away, once, and for a moment all hope seems to be lost. Until the device lurches in the air and zooms right back to its task, landing on the monstrosity and scuttling deftly over the surface of the World Eater in attempt to find a weak spot. The battle swells, attempting to keep the World Eater from clawing the drone from its body before the drone has a chance to work properly.

It feels as if it takes hours for the drone to locate a weak point, though the reality is it doesn't take much longer than a handful of minutes. The sickening churn of flesh, bone and blood resonates in the room as the drone buries successfully inside the monster. Those lingering for the fight aren't spared, as even as the device whirls inside of it, the World Eater keeps up the fight, reaching for and lashing out at whoever remains close enough. There's no running for cover, as the fight rages until the very last.

There's no warning for when it happens. The World Eater cries out, a terrifying bellow that echoes throughout the station. With the cry comes a flash of bold light, brighter than any of them have seen since arriving in Beacon. The light builds, pushes outward, and the explosion deafens suddenly and completely. The room is bathed in light and anyone in the Portal Room is thrown to the sidelines, bouncing like ragdolls off the sturdy metal walls. The implosion paired with the light existing inside the creature floods through the room, likely to leave characters blinded and deafened for a few seconds after.

However, as they come to their senses, they find the World Eater felled, lying in multiple bloody burnt pieces. Troubling, some of them do seem to keep twitching and moving. Still, it seems to be over. The fight was not without consequences, and certainly not won easily, but it was won all the same.

return to the surface.

With the beast felled, and the party much worse for the wear, the group collects back in the submarines which have thankfully had a chance to charge this time around. The ride isn't exactly fun, but there's no alarm messages or rides in pitch darkness, at least. Even if there's still a good chance that characters might suffer decompression sickness, dizziness, queasiness, and headaches as they head back topside.

It's a battered and bruised group that makes it back to the docks. Plenty will need medical attention, and there might even be some with broken lanterns that will need to be taken to the lab and repaired immediately. Those that died in the fight will awaken in 3 days, however, there might be some consequences when they revive.

Those that are in better shape have a lot to share. What they've seen, what happened, and what should happen next. They've had a rough go of it, characters on the surface have their own oddities to share, too. There's a new guy in town, after all... And boy does he have some ideas and opinions.

ooc notes.

For refreshers on the first part of this event, please see the first event post! The results of this event are based on the voting found here. If your character was involved in the portal room fight, we have provided a comment for injury rolls here. If your character died in the fight, please head over to the Death Page to report it. Thanks for taking part in the first major event of our Next Night! It was quite a ride but we hope you had as much fun as we did!

Feel free to use this post for action tags set during the fight, as well as meeting up and sharing information with the others topside. As of this event, new NPC Weaver will be ashore with her submarine to offer her aide to the residents of Beacon after their help with the Helix Station. Keep an eye out for more from her soon! She will be staying at the docks in a submarine. If anyone has a cot a bunny can borrow, hit a girl up...

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That gets an almost involuntary smile out of him, even in this situation, and Law shakes his head a little at the ridiculousness before focusing back on his wound.

He keeps alternating between stitches and looking up to watch Cora, and when he turns back with a smile that betrays his relief... Law, too, breathes out with something like it.

By the time Cora is back to his side, he's done patching himself up, and with a flick of his fingers, he removes the part of his side he'd been using as a compression bandage and reattaches it back to where it belongs.

"Good." Then, wryly, "I can't say I'm disappointed we don't get to fight some more."

[ he doesn't know her — doesn't even remember her name, though he's sure he heard it mentioned there. but she's hurt, that much is obvious, and though head wounds tend to bleed a lot... it still looks bad.

not to mention anything else it might have caused. someone needs to watch her for concussion — he'll likely ask soldat, later. he seems the type for that kind of thing.

now, though, law... glares down at jill. ]

Right. Well, if you want to die here on your own, that's your prerogative. But do it after I've checked your injuries.

[ sorry about the lack of bedside manner... he's truly the best surgeon there is. ]

"Meaning?"

She might have abandoned them. Stolen the raid suit (and what a prize, if so). That might even have lead to her death, possibly, as he can't imagine the Germa king would take kindly to such a betrayal. Especially as she's one of their own - he can see it surely, now. The curled eyebrow could have been style, could have been coincidence, but no, she's one of their actual family, isn't she? So the past tense might only be because she died.

He eyes the strange patch of skin again with lingering interest as it's replaced to where it came from, then focuses on Law's face.

"Me either. Let someone else be the big heroes." He just wants them both out of here alive. Plenty of people here probably think of him as the heroic type, but he doesn't, particularly. He just wants to get the job done to his moral standards, and keep the people he cares about safe.

"Let's get you settled in one of the subs before everyone else comes rushing in here. Need me to carry you?" Almost certainly, he suspects. Nobody gets to walk out of here with a wound like that. Not even Law, even if he's a very good doctor.

( it's true. he knows. there's no other explanation for waking up the way he had, dazed and a little sore and mostly quite confused. it's happened all too recently, so it makes it less jarring to have it happen a second time, all too soon. Matt knows he died, though... how he died is admittedly a bit of a mystery.

part of him wants to press. part of him isn't sure Elektra is the right person to ask. the rest of him isn't actually sure he wants to know. whatever happened in that fight, it's clear he didn't survive it. )

Broken? ( there's more than that, he can smell it. cuts, starting to clot and heal over. bandage, starchy and clean. new from being changed. Matt can feel the tense at his touch and his fingers still. does he need to touch what he can sense without it? technically, no, even though it's a crutch he leans on all too easily with Elektra. he won't feel around any more, it doesn't help her injuries any. he just winds her closer, as it turns out she's the steadiest thing he can sense in the room right about now. )

I'm... ( Matt frowns, almost like he can't quite decide if he's well or not. he doesn't feel the same as he had the last time he woke just like this, though what is different seems hard to pin down. ) I feel... lightheaded? Dizzy? ( is that a part of the lantern repair process? he has no idea. the tree spirit and their soft attempts to get their attention does break him out of his confusion, though. ) What's wrong?

( sadly, what has the treeby upset, Matt can't actually sense. the dimming of light is absolutely a visible cue, and that's the only kind he can't track. )

"Then sit and eat. Everyone's patched up that can be, for now. We'll get everyone on the submarines after a breather." And after some clean-up. There's dead here to deal with, and some people will need to be moved very slowly and carefully to the subs. She has time to rest a minute.

"You couldn't keep me from a slice if you tried, just wondering how big to go in case it's gone by the time I aim for seconds." Food and levity make for a perfectly fine little celebration, given the circumstances she wouldn't think to ask him for any more than he's already supplied-- but his offer is exceptionally sweet.

"You don't have to," she warns, too warmed by it to sound as humorous as she'd like. "You've done plenty, don't overextend for my sake if that's what it'd be."

"Not over-extending. A good gift," they say with a little smile. The way she looks and sounds make them think they're right, and it is a good gift. Misty doesn't get enough hugs. (Neither do we, pal. If I thought we could handle it, sure.)

But for Misty's birthday, today, they know they can do it. Maybe not for multiple minutes, or anything, but hugs don't have to last that long. They offer her one hand, the flesh one since that's softer. "C'mon."

( well. usually, he does his own introductions. when it comes to meeting (relative) newcomers, usually Matt does it on his own. apparently someone else did the heavy lifting for him, this time around, because Law has him pegged correctly, and Matt he most certainly is. )

Right. ( despite the whole dead for three days, he's had enough time to recover that he's not quite as shellshocked about the experience as he was. it's enough for him to recover some shambles of his sense of humor, and there's something amusing about the introduction. if you can even call it that. )

And you are? ( Law might have been told about him, but Matt is pretty sure he does not know this guy. )

[ Well, that's one way of being brusque. She looks up at him and there's a brief narrowing of her eyes, like she's going to bite back, but the truth is that her head hurts like hell and it'd be foolish at this point to refuse help. So, smartly, she keeps her mouth shut for a moment or two.

Instead, she makes a little gesture with her hand, a little waved 'go ahead'. ]

Sure.

[ She can't exactly stop him. And maybe he can give her a better idea of how bad it is. ]

Law's done a great job of patching her up. The head injury was pretty nasty but with the days that have gone by, she's back on her feet and getting her bearings once more, considering everything is more than a little fuzzy. Details about Beacon - and herself, and her life - are just missing and she has to relearn everything all over again. It's a little demoralizing, frankly, and half of the people she doesn't really recognize beyond that guy who helped out, so it's been a challenge. Stone, though? The moment she sees him, she absolutely recognizes him. The battle is a broken mess in her mind, mostly sounds and flashes she can vaguely recall, but him? Hard to forget. Harder, still, to forget that he'd lost his head...and that part's dim.

Not so dim, though, that a dragon romping around would be something she'd avoid just because her memory's muddled. She's on the shore looking around when sudden splashing kicks water up in her direction and she steps back a little too quickly, a rush of vertigo hitting her. But after?

Well, come on, it's kind of weird. And funny. There's a huge winged lizard looking like a bird in a bird bath. "Woah, hey, I'm right here." She doesn't sound annoyed. She even manages a smile. "What're you trying to do?"

( Javert's not much better off himself. His movements are slow, weighed down by this lack of sleep, and his eyes beneath his cap are puffy and not quite as piercing as they often are. He patrols the town at every hour of the night, and though Matt is not always with him, when he is, Javert feels his presence keenly. The sight of him dying had been a distressing one, and though Javert will never admit as much out loud, he still sees his face blacken to ash whenever he closes his eyes.

Perhaps it is not so surprising, then, that he would rush to his side at the first sign of trouble. Matt stumbles, and Javert is at his side not one moment later, gripping his arm, holding him upright and keeping his body from swaying too much. )

What's wrong?

( He looks him over, looking for any obvious wounds or bruises, and when his eyes find the flickering light of his lantern, he pales. Fear seizes him. )

We must get you to the lab.

( Javert almost meets his gaze, glaring at him with a look fixed somewhere between Soldat's shoulders. He knows what the other man is asking, but it's not something that he wishes to discuss, and since he cannot lie and say he's fine, he does the next best thing and ignores it. )

There's no need for concern. Unless something perilous happens within the next hour or so, I suspect your patrol will be quite uneventful.

( He isn't going to mention that he will still be patrolling, just in the opposite direction, so their paths don't cross. They both know each other well enough to have each other's habits and schedules memorized by now. )

"I'm here, aren't I?" She keeps her voice low, but the bitterness is unmistakable. She's dead, and in death if nowhere else there should be freedom from the past. But no -- there are Charlottes here, Pudding in particular of all people, and these two, natives of North Blue who were already inclined to distrust her before she had to reveal herself. Now -- now, she's sure, they're going to make things unpleasant for her.

[ she'll tell him if he does, that she'd turned from the fight after getting injured to see him on the ground, his lantern empty of light. she'd screamed, clung to him, eventually having to be dragged away by someone (she still doesn't know who). the trip back and the past few days had been a blur; she remembers getting sick again from the trip and decompression and forcing herself through it to get back to the labs to restore him, she remembers coming back to the hotel to find the tree spirit and bring him with her to the church to wait and pray for his return. anything more specific she has to reach for. ]

Yes. And stitches. [ but she's sure he can tell that, and she's way more concerned with his state than hers. she sits beside him, the less damaged hand brushes over his face again, tries to look into his eyes when he mentions feeling woozy. had something gone wrong? did she make a mistake, or is there a limit on how many times can be brought back, and how quickly?

the tree spirit whines again, patting urgently at her knee, and that and matthew's questioning draws her attention away from him and to the treeby. ]

What is it? [ the tree points underneath the bench of the pew, where matthew's lantern is flickering. elektra's heartbeat feels like it freezes in her chest, her gaze flicking back to matthew's face again for a moment, and her hand moves to hold his again as she moves to check it.

for a moment, when she first gets sight of it, it looks as if it's flickering dangerously. but then it's gone, back to burning steadily. ]

Edited 2020-08-02 04:32 (UTC)

[ she nods and sighs, disappointed by the answer but not surprised. she has some very basic medical knowledge, but setting and properly wrapping broken bones is beyond her and she'll need her arm in working order again, or at least as close to it as possible. ]

You need to be, in this place. [ she's only really gotten to know him more recently, even though he'd only been here a few weeks longer than her. getting kidnapped and tortured together had broken the ice. ] How do you know each other?

That doesn't answer the part where it's far easier for her not to think about everything that happened -- but she's not about to admit it, either, so that's her own problem to deal with. And, as she searches for some way to protest anyway, she realizes that she really doesn't need to. He's right. Everyone who can be taken care of now is taken care of to the best of their collective current ability.

"You're right." The words come slowly. "Thank you."

Still wearing exactly how touched she is by the gesture on her sleeve, she ducks quickly and gratefully under the offered arm as if the offer may be retracted if she questions further. Overdoing it would only discourage similar offers in the future, so she tries not to overdo it. Her arms don't squeeze his midsection so much as lazily rest around it, and it's enough. He's sturdy and warm. Good hug.

"You're one of the nicest people I've ever met, you know that?"

They settle both arms around her, tuck her head against the softer shoulder, and hold for a moment. Warm and steady. It's not even that... bad. Actually. There's some tension that they can feel starting up in the background, but it's manageable so far.

There's the knee-jerk "not a person", but that's likely to upset her, and this is a day for making her feel better, not worse. "Well, you deserve it," they say, instead. "Don't know what or where I'd be without you."

[Not looking at Soldat's face means not seeing the worried, uncertain flickers of expression. There clearly is need for concern, Javert. And avoiding it with practicalities is only making it worse.

Soldat nods once, hesitantly, then steps back-- and stops.]

Did I do something wrong?

"You'd still be good. That's what you are, under all the rest. That's what's important." Hard not to clutch for emphasis, but she holds onto restraint. "I appreciate this a lot."

What?

( He never considered that his absence would cause Soldat to worry so much. If anything, he thought that his presence would only make the other man worry more, and Javert didn't wish to cause him any more distress than he had to. He goes on, reassuring, )

You've done nothing wrong, Soldat. Why would you think that?

You. Haven't been to the cabin. We haven't played chess. You don't come to get leftovers from the group lunch.

[To summaries: passing off patrols and catching a glance from a distance is the only time they've seen Javert. Which makes it feel like they're being avoided. Why else would Javert avoid them, then if they did something wrong?]

Just death, then. Hm. He watches her for a moment, staring her down while trying to read whatever fragment of an expression she might yield, then shakes his head.

"I won't hold the past against you if you use this as an opportunity to start fresh," he says, which is both true and fair in his opinion. "You've made a good start here already. Treat these people with kindness and help protect them, and I'll look past that family of yours."

Said firmly, almost as a sort of warning - as if he was more personally bothered by them than he is, but again, he needs her to believe he's truly from that sea.

I didn't mean to upset you.

( He means that sincerely, and to punctuate his words, he takes a step forward, to fill in the space Soldat retreated from earlier. He raises his eyes only slightly, to catch a glimpse of his friend's face. )

I haven't been feeling much like myself recently. Sleep has been difficult, and I saw no reason for me to stay in the cabin otherwise.

( That's not the whole of it, but it's more than Javert ever intended to admit to. )

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Page 5 of 11

EVENT CONCLUSION: BEYOND THE SEA

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that's fine though!! don't u worry

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clutches heart

Misty saying it gave me the idea :B

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III.

aftermath

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still soft!!

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