thebastion | Event: Day 355 [OPEN]

[Hearing voices in his head is very disturbing to Rob, and he desperately hopes that his every thought isn't being read because that would be terrifying. Just thinking about the possibility of someone reading his mind is distracting him and splitting his attention.

His datapad loading something on its own is also disturbing, but he at least knows that Colin is capable of installing stuff remotely and can only assume that this is a message he's being sent. The meaning is fairly self-explanatory, but what he's supposed to do with that information isn't. He has access to two Pokémon and four magical robots, yes, but the crowd is huge and getting any of them into position can't be done subtly. Except...

He pulls out the Reflecting Mirror and, cupping it in his hand to make it harder to see, uses the wolf pelt's magic to drop his volume to the absolute minimum needed for this.]

Hovermyr: Circle 30 feet above the crowd near the Monument.

[The Hovermyr is in position a few seconds later, having been nearby already. Considering what's going on, how many people are going to be looking up right now?]

Colin, stop encouraging a fight!

[This is why his job is so much harder. It's because of you.]

[For once, however, he seems a little bit distracted in his angry scolding. It's not nearly as aggravated as it should be. He's still riveted on Zayna, relief practically leaking out of his heart.]

[It wasn't fake.]

Listen to her, Zahi! We don't need to fight- we don't need to cause more harm and pain than has already been done!

[Colin you are lucky that Zayna and Zulf are distracting him, he was about to have something very Not Nice done to you.

But before he can give the order, suddenly people in his space. And his voice is switching to the kinder one he uses whenever he talks to Zayna, because precious child of his.]

You know it has to be done, sweetie. Your mother, your sisters...this is the only way.

[And then, to Zulf.]

You're right, we don't need to fight. Just lend me your strength, and we can do this. Together.

[Sorry guys, but Zahi is not backing down on this.

Also, the turrets Colin mentioned? Zahi gives a hand signal, and the ground under them is blown up, launching the turrets off to the Skyway. This only covers the visible turrets, that Zahi knew about beforehand, but it still takes out several of them.]

Or, at the very least, do not try to harm us while we do the right thing.

[He would actually have preferred to have that not-nice thing done to him. The uncertainty of the Bastion's own defenses is the only thing keep him from attacking.]

[That said... He's not the least bit fazed by his turrets getting blown up. He lost a couple of turrets, big guns, but he doesn't seem the least bit concerned.]

[In fact, in the face of very bad things, Colin is smiling.]

[And he isn't speaking. Not for the moment, Zayna's got her shot first, everyone else has their shots first... Colin's just waiting.]

By Althena's bones, you really are a stupid bastard.

[With those words, a certain healer looms out of the crowd, having had quite enough. Although he's dressed in the usual light robes he prefers when working as a doctor, the lack of the long gloves that normally hide most of the scarring on his arms and the almost predatory way he's walking are sure signs that Ghaleon is most certainly not here in a peaceful role.]

You come into our home, we treat you as a valued member of the community, and this is how you repay us? By manipulating all these people desperate for a bit of hope into following along with you, even if it meant the deaths of people whom also desired a better tomorrow? People whom you lived beside, people whom you knew.

Crona and Ragnarok are dead. The residents of the Ura settlement could have died in a most painful manner had different measures been taken. Who knows how many of the people who arrived here today have died because they were discouraged from seeking aid from we who live in the Bastion? Many more could potentially die today in a battle for control of a machine with the potential to change the world.

All because of you. All because you decided that your grief over your dead family was more important than finding a fucking reasonable way to go about this.

And you know what pisses me off the most? The fact that you seem to think that all the pain and suffering that has been caused over this is lessened because your method will make it so it never happened. But the scars will remain. Oh yes, the dead will live again. And the ones that died here, after the Calamity hit? They will remember the moment their hearts stopped.

As a person who has died - well and truly died, and violently so - I can assure you that it is something that changes a person.

I am Ghaleon, once a member of the legendary Four Heroes, and once known as the Magic Emperor, a villain so feared that the God of Destruction made certain when pulling me from the grave that I could be destroyed from anywhere should I give the barest hint that I might again decide to protect the world I loved so dearly. Perhaps I have revoked my right to be referred to as a good person, but I can say this for certain:

[Ghaleon raises his arm and points at Zahi to emphasize his declaration.]

Perhaps your motives can be sympathized with, but your methods are that of one who will be known as a villain as well! If you do not stand down, I assure you that you will end this day having returned to Mother, by my hand or that of someone else, because today? Today you made a lot of people with a lot of power very. Very. Angry.

[In other words, a certain someone is about to have a b a d t i m e.]

[It was probably a good thing there were those being as calm as they were. Unnerving as such a reaction could be in lieu of what had just happened, it was keeping a lot of people from freaking out.

There certainly were a lot in that group who didn't seem to think Zahi was capable of such violence, bloodless as it had been...

Zayna barely had the time to brace herself for the rocking of the Bastion following the explosions, but in stumbling back and needing to reorient herself she gave Ghaleon a good spot to deliver his own soliloquy on the situation.

Afterwards she returned to Zahi's side, pleading with him yet a second time with genuine sadness in her eyes.]

Father, he is absolutely right. They all are. And even if they weren't... Mother didn't die because of the Calamity! You say it'll bring her back along with my sisters, but it won't!

[She dug in the cloths wrapped at her waist, pulling out a jeweled turquoise necklace, holding it out to Zahi.]

My mother, your wife was lost to us long before the Calamity ever came down on our people! Remember that! And think for a moment, if I am against this while I'm living what would your other daughters think of what you're doing?!

[Following the explosion of the turrets, Ikuri's rage had nearly bubbled over. Tremoring with wrath, her hand had snapped to her sword hilt, and she'd nearly launched herself at Zahi then and there.]

[Nearly, and then she'd stolen a glance at Colin. That glance, in turn, had stopped her cold: actually caused some of that wrath to drain out. That feeling of menace, directed at their shared enemy, the traitor... that wasn't illusion: neither bluff nor feint, nor mere bravado. He knew. There was something he knew that no one else did. Control had not left him. This situation...]

[Zahi was walking into the lion's mouth. Colin knew it. He anticipated it.]

[Ikuri understood all this on an instinctive level, but her rational side - the part of it that managed to remain awake despite escalating mutual hostility - was briefly puzzled. It was enough to make her conclude that attacking right away was not necessarily the best course. Colin, the Bastion's defender along with the rest of them, was not threatened.]

[And then Ghaleon spoke.]

[It astonished her, held her in place, but in a way she hadn't expected: his words lit a fire in her, stirred her will to fight in a manner entirely different from what Zahi had accomplished. Ironically it also served to calm her, to return her to that one place her loved ones said was most important, that place of focus and control.]

['Remember Crona.' This man had killed her. To make matters worse, he'd marched into their home with his little army, openly intending to usurp control of the Bastion to fulfill his aims. If either act alone had been his only sin, he would deserve to die for it. But everything else...the risks he took, the danger he placed Ibuki in, and Ikuri, and indeed the very world if Colin was to believed (and Ikuri absolutely believed him); the horrors that he could bring down on each of them and he. didn't. care.]

[The dark-haired girl spoke to him next, his daughter...and Ikuri did find some part of her softening, just for an instant. He wanted loved ones back...she understood that. yes, she did. of course she wants hers back, too. But at what cost? At what risk? Ibuki would be torn apart if it didn't work as Zahi predicted...Ikuri too, for that matter. And by Colin's account, the fabric of space-time would be damaged for it, eventually bringing horrors forth...all without the assurance that anything would change at all.]

[Yes, you can say it's about your loved ones, but is it really? Her thoughts are kin to Zayna's; what would they think if they saw you now, or rather, what you did to get to this point? Or were you even thinking that at all? Perhaps you were confident that all it took was rewinding time, and it would wipe memories clean. According to Ghaleon, that won't happen either.]

[No. She will not take the chance, nor suffer it to be taken. And you know what else? Like so many people here she really. Really. Really does not appreciate that you tried to force the matter.]

[And nothing here can excuse all you've done and intended: no argument made today can absolve you. You've directly threatened the Bastion, their home, her home, her family, for the sake of your agenda...you fired first shot, and now you threaten their future. Crona is dead. More could still die. All because you live in a universe of one.]

[That...will not go unpunished, whatever is decided today.]

[Ikuri reaches for her black blade once more, this time in a determined and even motion. Grasps the hilt, slowly draws the blade out; a dull shine dances off as light catches it. She's still up on stage, in full view of everyone.]

[Her stance shifts, still battle-ready but this time it's as much to command attention. Not of the crowd itself, no...her eyes lock onto Zahi's face: onto his own eyes, if they should meet.]

[It's probably not hard to guess what sentiment is behind them.]

[Even if you surrender, you're not seeing day's end unmarked.]

[You may not see it at all.]

Edited 2015-10-25 18:45 (UTC)

[Sorry Zayna, getting lectured at isn't helping him. So he's going to respond to Ghaleon now.]

Do you remember anything from the first Calamity? The one Zulf experienced before this one? Because I certainly don't.

This has all happened at least once before, yet nobody here besides a select few remember the first time. I suspect that it will happen exactly the same way, that only those alive currently will remember all of this. I believe this to be true, because by Zulf's own word I did not survive the first Calamity, and I have no memory of it occurring that first time.

So those who are dead, they will likely not recall any of this. Which is why it is so important that those of us who are still alive make the right choice here.

Sorry, Zayna. He knows that.

[Still smiling, Colin has yet to take his eyes off of Zahi.]

He's too smart not to.

Either way... Reversing your mother's and sisters' deaths is NOT why he's doing this. It's just an excuse he's feeding everyone to get them to go along with him. A pretty story to distract from the horror of what he wants to do, and what he's already done.

Or he's insane. There's a decent chance of that.

[Zuko shoots Colin a glare. What Ghaleon said was harsh, but it was true. What Colin is saying is just more goading. Is pissing people off the only way he knows to interact with them? The only reaction he can predictably produce?

Zuko wants to back Zahi down from a fight, not push him closer to one.]

Zahi. Your threat of force isn't convincing anyone. We're prepared to defend our right to choose our own destinies, if we have to.

Even if you were right about who will or won't remember, look at all of us. We're going to remember what happens today. If there's a fight, it'll be one you started. If you come out on top, you'll still remember everyone you cut down to get there. So will everyone beside you.

I believe there is a right path. But if you have to do so much evil to reach your goal, then you aren't on it.

[So far, Paarthurnax has left the talking to so many others: from Zuko to Zulf to Ghaleon. He knows how he appears to the newcomers, after all: an enormous threat with too many teeth.]

[However... Things are heating up. They've become worse with the show of threat, the explosion. Things are looking less and less likely like they'll resolve peacefully.]

[A low sigh leaves the dragon's throat. His words rumble forth forcefully- a Shout.]

Tiid Klo Ul.

[Those who have attended his classes will have just a moment to translate the words from his maw before he suddenly seems to speed up in a way the lumbering giant has never been before. Not that he's moving faster- to his eyes, everyone else is simply moving slower as though the world is awash in tar.]

[Hopefully no one is too close around the Monument, or else he will have to do his best to nudge them out of the way. Once he's near, he wraps around the Monument. His serpentine neck and long leathery wings do wonderfully for this task. Time, eventually, remerges as it should between him and everyone else. Amazing what 30 seconds can do.]

[Paarthurnax finally speaks.]

Lay down your arms and threats, Zahi. That is no way to win this cause. The lives and deaths of so many is a heavy burden, yet what's done is done. I am older than you by many many years. I have seen the deaths of many companions. Even that of Crona, whom you are are responsible for. Yet to treat the realm of my Father, time, so carelessly as though changing the past can change all the troubles...

We must speak more. We must not make this decision so immediately, so rushed.

That is all that any of us ask.

I will not fight you. However, I will not allow you to do as you please.

Do not try to harm us while we attempt to do the right thing.

Zuko, that is wishful thinking. Not every choice is free from consequences. No matter what choice is made here, someone will get hurt. I only want to pick the one that will help the most people while harming the least.

[And then, to Paarthurnax.]

It is not careless if we act with wisdom. We know what went wrong before, so we can learn from the mistakes made before and make wiser choices this time. Is that not the right thing to do?

And your scrawny young ass is obviously full of wisdom, thus why you've been sneaking around on all of this instead of trying to convince us this is the right path openly from the start - which you probably could have succeeded at, honestly.

Too late for that by far, though.

[Rin had been quiet for a while following the image that Colin had pulled up, but it wasn't entirely out of shock. It was because she was doing everything in her power to not straight up punch the bastard in the face with a fiery fist.

Meg's words did garner a response from the angered half demon, though.]

Face it, Zahi. All of your pretty words ain't gonna fix what you've already done. You fucked up, plain and simple.

Now shut the fuck up so the rest of us can actually figure out what the hell we're gonna do.

[And in that moment, Ikuri tenses.]

[This is it, she realizes. His hand's been forced. Soon, very soon, we'll see how far he's willing to take this.]

Wishful thinking? [Okay, now Zuko is getting ticked off. Is this how Uncle felt talking to her? It's a little like talking to a wall. A really stupid wall.] We're talking about what we can do here and now to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.

You're only talking about what we might be able to do in the past. That's already happened. It's done. You don't have any guarantees about changing or fixing any of it.

You could stand down, but if you're so set on a fight, fine.

Let's leave everyone else out of it. I'll take you on.

[Everyone else is arriving at the conclusions he's already arrived at.]

[Everyone else is drawing Zahi's attention at the moment, which makes things easier for him.]

[And perhaps most importantly... Everyone else is fueling the fire. He's just drawing trajectories, mapping backstops, and generally doing math to ensure that his plan works while he waits for his opportunity.]

[When the time comes, he'll be the first to pounce on opportunity. For now... he only needs to be quiet and watch. And hope that Nathan isn't wasting the opportunity they're giving him.]

[He really hopes Nathan doesn't decide on the restore option. The odds still aren't good in that regard, even with the spy and enemy wanting the same thing...]

Edited 2015-10-28 16:50 (UTC)

[Speaking her language-]

I will!

This man has caused pain and horror to myself and those around me and I've relived his deeds in my nightmares! I would seek the right of vengeance!

[Yes, it was impulsive, but in her mind she's drawing fire away from Zuko. This traitor has lied already; he would absolutely utilize tricks in what would otherwise be fair combat. If someone has to be the victim of that...if someone must suffer such, better that it's not anyone but Ikuri.]

[Besides, it probably goes without saying, but she urgently wants her piece of him. Not to deny you yours Zuko, she'll gladly share, but she'd rather you weren't in the line of fire for it. This is her calling.]

[Zahi looks about ready to address both Zuko and Ikuri, in regards to the challenge to a duel, but before he can a bottle smashes to the ground between him and them.

That crowd that had been growing agitated? Yeah, they're starting to turn violent. And if the look on Zahi's face is anything to go by, this was definitely not what he intended to happen.

The crowd will be throwing whatever they can get their hands on at the group that has been talking, as well as busting up nearby buildings. And possibly the monument, though right now they're just kicking it and not actually damaging it.

The ones closer to the group will actually try to throw punches at everyone, too. Though at most they will get maybe a hit or two in before the failsafe kicks in.]

[Not quite what he'd been hoping for, but it's enough.]

ENOUGH!

[Across the Bastion, from well over a dozen points, there are soft thumping sounds. Less than a second later, balls of goo begin slamming into aggressors at a high rate of speed. On impact, the goo immediately begins to spread, immobilizing its targets. It's not gentle, and the point of impact will be bruised.]

[That said, it is non-lethal. And neither is it attacking innocent people. Aggressors, vandals, anyone causing trouble has already been painted as a target, and Colin's hidden turrets are wasting no time in firing upon them. Shots are expertly lined up, targeting the most egregious offenders first.]

[And Zahi. Zahi's getting a goober round straight to the rib cage.]

I have had enough of this POINTLESS STUPIDITY. You come into our haven, we welcome you, and this is how you act within an hour of your arrival? IS IT ANY WONDER WE'RE NOT EXACTLY HAPPY ABOUT THIS?!

And YOU...

[He stares at the now goo-immobilized Zahi.]

THIS is your group whom you would make a go at restoring things with?! I've seen better managed mobs at the war riots of Meklon!

[He looks at Paarthurnax.]

Protect the monument.

[He glares at the crowd.]

ANYONE who makes an aggressive move is getting pasted. Persist, and you will be expelled. This is supposed to be a place of PEACE, not some Football riot! And if you think I can't do it... I planned for this EXACT turn of events. So I will ask again, DO YOU FEEL LUCKY?!

Now can we PLEASE get some intelligent conversation about what to do next?!

[He looks at Zuko.]

You, Princess. You lead that. I'm going to go survey the damage and keep the crowd control ready. I'll be freeing people once tempers have cooled.

Edited 2015-10-29 00:16 (UTC)

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'scuze all the grammarderps

thread 1, for Zahi-talking

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thread 2, for Zero-stuff

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