Day 264 [Log; Part 1 Closed, Part 2 Open]

[cyan_maid]

[Part 1 - CLOSED to The Emissary]

She'd dropped the PDA in her hand as the rumbling grew stronger, the device tumbling into the abyss. Never in all of her life had she experienced something quite like this, a grand shaking that rivaled any earthquake despite the fact that she was in a place that was in no way connected to the ground. She braced herself and closed her eyes, a tingling awareness of Jake's presence on the floating slab beside her.

What now? After all they'd been through, what now?

It took forever, an age perhaps, before the shaking and rumbling finally ceased, petering out in slow, weak tremors. There was a sudden sense of stillness around her, hollowness, that urged Jane to open her eyes. She examined her body first - she was intact. The slab she sat on looked somewhat worse for wear, chunks ripped off the corners and edges, and all around her the innards of Prospit's moon hung in ruin. It was as if a great giant had ripped the moon in half, leaving bits of chain to float like debris and swaths of blackness in the sky that...she couldn't explain it, but they just didn't look the same. A question on the tip of her tongue, she turned to Jake's slab -

- Jake wasn't moving.

He was sprawled out on his similarly damaged slab, still as death and completely ashen, as if covered from head to toe in a fine dust. The gap between their slabs was too wide for her to jump, lest she topple into him and send them both tumbling down into who knew what. Her throat was incredibly dry.

"...Jake...?"

It was all she could bring herself to say to him, after all she'd put him through, but if she couldn't reach him, she had to...she couldn't be alone here, could she? In this strange and unearthly place?

No answer. She waited a minute, two, but still nothing.

Jane took a deep breath. Okay - okay, so, the only person she knew was in shouting distance could not answer her. She'd be okay, this was going to be okay, she just...needed to find some help, was all! Yes, help, that was exactly it. She stood up on the slab and cupped her hands around her mouth, looking about the wreck wildly.

"HELLO? IS ANYONE OUT THERE?"

There's barely an echo. She tries again, and again, and will keep on trying until someone hears her.

[Part 2 - OPEN to all]

So...this was it, then. The Bastion.

After parting from her rescuer, Jane had been quickly welcomed by the natives, and though still shaken from all she had learned, she absorbed what they told her like a sponge, but two things stuck out in particular: there was no way home, and no one to go back to. It was a daunting, frightful thought, one surely common to many who first arrived, but that did not keep it from nipping at Jane's heels nonetheless.

At the direction of the locals, she walks off towards what she's been told are apartments where she can stay. She seems a bit drawn and tired, but...not completely unapproachable. In fact, she looks on those who come and go with an inkling of genuine curiosity.

Comments

Part 1

[emissaries]

As it happened, someone was indeed out there. Since the little Core expedition, the Emissary had gotten bolder about making trips into the Skyway to look for supplies and shards, the better to pull her own weight. Additional survivors were, of course, gravy.

She saw the area from a distance before she heard anyone; the golden wreckage glinting in the weird, sourceless sunlight was hard to miss, and the enormous links of chain confirmed her suspicion. That was Prospit... or at least part of Prospit. Its moon, perhaps. Aradia's heart lifted at the thought. Maybe it meant some of the wigglers had survived, too. She tried, vainly, to remember which of them had dreamed of Prospit, but if she'd ever known it, nothing was coming to mind. Well, it didn't matter who. If anyone was alive down there, they might need help, and there was little point in keeping her distance from them now.

As she came closer, her amulet drawing up fragments of ground for her to walk on, she began to hear the voice - someone calling for help. It wasn't a voice she recognized, though, which was... very odd. Maybe she was just losing her hearing in her old age. Anyway, she was in earshot now, so she called back.

"YES! HELLO! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Part 1

[cyan_maid]

Jane paused. Had that been a voice? A real voice, calling back to her?

A great thrill rose up in her chest. It was a touch too faint to tell if it was familiar, but it spoke words she understood, and that was all that mattered. Jane took another deep breath.

"OVER HERE! ER, WHEREVER HERE IS! PLEASE, HELP US!"

She glanced over at Jake's prone form. Yes, this was good, help was on the way...

[emissaries]

"Us?" she repeated to herself. So there was more than one... She hoped they were in good enough condition to walk on their own. Carrying the Psiioniic back from the ship had been difficult enough with two of them to share the load.

"ALL RIGHT, DON'T FRET! I'M COMING!" she replied. The voice was coming from this direction, wasn't it? Right. She followed it, occasionally calling out again to reorient herself, until she came upon a structure that might have been vaguely rounded once. Now it was cracked almost clean in two, with the fissure at the bottom wide enough to fit through if she went sideways, which she did.

Yes, this was the place for sure. You could tell because there was a living person inside it. The fissure had put Aradia a level above the twin slabs, but not very far from them for all that. On one, a girl - not a troll girl, she noted with mild disappointment and moderate confusion - and on the other a boy, ashen and unmoving. Oh, dear.

Well, a cheerful greeting was probably inappropriate in light of that. But she waved to get the girl's attention, at any rate. "Hello! Are you all right, dear?"

[cyan_maid]

When she finally made out a figure coming closer, relief flooded Jane like nothing else before. Even the shape of horns didn't discourage her; she'd met the odd beings called trolls before, even if they were usually present as dead bodies first and then mashed together in frightening sprite reconfigurations. Still, so long as this one didn't look a lick like that frightening clown with the rather...indescribable codpiece...she had no reason to be particularly afraid.

She waved and hooted and hollered, quieting down only when she was sure the strange troll was coming. It was a lady troll, much taller and more mature than the ones used to make her friends' sprite guides, but that was a good thing, right? An adult, she could depend on an adult. And what was going on with the ground around her - were those bits of land coming to make a path? How in the world did she manage that - oh, she could find out later! Getting herself and Jake out of here, that was first and foremost!

"I'm fine, thank you for asking - and thank you for coming! I really thought we'd be stuck here for good!" Jane smiled as amiably as she could, a bit of a challenge with her nerves still in a jumble. "I'm not sure what's happened, but seeing another living soul out here is definitely a good thing!"

[emissaries]

Aradia descended toward the slab, pieces of golden rubble indeed rising to make a path. Her smile faltered briefly to hear that "we" again, though, and her eyes darted to the boy's remains and back. The poor creature thinks he's still alive, she realized with some dismay. What could she do? She'd have to let her down gently, somehow... but given all the things she had to tell her, that might not even be possible.

"It's no trouble at all," she said, just before realizing something odd. She tilted her head slightly, regarding the girl with an air of bemusement. "Hold on, you can understand me?"

[polariity]

If there's curious she wants, there's nothing more curious than the man near the Tower doors who's been propped up against the wall. While he shares the gray skin and bright horns of the lady who found Jane, he's in certainly much worse shape- drawn and thin, more bones and skin than any actual flesh. There's also a pair of what appear to be bright pink goggles attached to his face... Or, at least, they look just like goggles at a distance, where the way they've drawn into his skin at parts isn't so obvious.

His eyes are still bright, however, the same colors that make them up surrounding a few small items- a pen, a pebble, a shoe, et cetera. He seems to just be making them go into a circle in midair, although the control seems... a bit shaky.

[cyan_maid]

Oh, it's definitely curious she wants. Anything less and it's bound not to make an impression on her in this state.

She stops short when she spots this new troll and can't stop herself from peering for a little longer than necessary. He looks a little like an adult and very sickly version of one of the trolls used to create EriSolsprite - oh, oh, no, don't think of Jake, don't think of anything in regards to Jake, don't go down that path Jane, don't do it, focus on something else, focus on...

...The floating things.

Okay. Despite the awful strangeness that surrounded today, that's worth an investigation, and she stares very pointedly, her feet edging closer on their own. What in the world made those things float?

[cyan_maid]

The bemusement is matched as best as Jane can match it. It's a little hard to be bemused in this sort of situation. All the other trolls she'd met had been perfectly understandable, so the question is...pretty odd to hear.

Oh, let this woman ask as many questions as she likes. Her presence is nothing short of a miracle at this point.

"Yes, I can. Why wouldn't I?"

[findsrisks]

On that particular day, Nanaki actually happens to be at the apartments, even though she doesn't live there. With everyone being so busy, she had taken to keeping the most-visited places as clean as possible, and that day was the day she was cleaning the entrance area to the apartments.

When she hears Jane approach, she looks up from her sweeping. Jane doesn't look familiar to her, so she must be new. And she looks to be about Nanaki's age, too! Which is nice, since most of the people living here are either adults or boys. So she gives Jane a friendly wave, and she says, "Hey! You must be new, I'm guessing?"

[cyan_maid]

The sight of someone near her age - and decidedly normal looking, oh wow - is somewhat welcoming, if nothing else. Jane finds herself waving back out of politeness, but she can't really bring herself to smile.

"Erm, yes." She pauses to look around. Yes, this must be where the apartments are, alright. "Is that a...fairly common occurrence?"

[findsrisks]

"Not as common as it used to be," Nanaki admits, "But it's still a welcome sight anyway."

Far too many people have died, and far too many people have gone missing after already making it to the safety of the Bastion. At this point, as long as they're not trying to kill anyone, Nanaki would welcome any newcomer.

"I'm Nanaki, by the way, what's your name?"

[cyan_maid]

Huh. Not as common as it used to be? Interesting. Jane will just store that little bit of information away for later.

"Oh, um, my name is Jane. Jane Crocker. It's nice to meet you, Nanaki." She holds out a hand in greeting, and the thought that perhaps not everyone greets each other with handshakes only occurs to her when it's a little too late to take her hand back.

[emissaries]

Why not indeed? Aradia could hardly say she knew all the ins and outs of how her amulet worked. "I suppose my little universal translator doo-dad is doing its job, then," she replied with a shrug. "That's good, though. It'll make it much simpler to answer your questions, and I'm sure you have a few."

Simpler, of course, did not entail easier.

[polariity]

And with that, the pebble suddenly shoots out at her.

It looks more impressive than it is, because the force behind it is about as strong as a very young toddler flinging a creampuff. The Helmamn looks aggravated as he notices, a sharp chirring noise going off in his throat. It's nothing about Jane, really; he doesn't have any patience for most people in the Bastion in his current state.

[cyan_maid]

The squeal she lets out as she jerks back is absolutely priceless. The pebble doesn't go far, just bounces onto the ground, and she stares at it blank-faced for a moment before she hears the chirring noise. Now that she'd never heard before, and it puts her on edge.

"Uh..." She swallows, eyes flicking from the pebble to the remaining floating objects to the troll, and back again. "Er...I...assume you're the one who's, um...doing that."

[cyan_maid]

Universal translator doo-dad.

Well, other than being a grand old nickname for whatever it was she referred to, Jane had to bite the first question that came to mind, which was to ask if that was even a thing that existed. There were more important questions to ask, and probing into particulars could wait for later.

Jane clears her throat, trying to get her bearings back. "Right. Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do. Would you know what happened here? I felt this tremendous shaking, and suddenly everything is in shambles and my - "

Her throat gets caught on the word 'friend'. Oh, she hadn't been much of a friend to Jake today, it wasn't right to call herself that. She swallows.

" - My, er, um...companion isn't moving or speaking or doing anything as he should."

[emissaries]

Ah, yup, there it was. Aradia took a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth. She hated being the bearer of bad news.

"You... may want to sit down, dear," she said, placing a gentle hand on Jane's shoulder.

[cyan_maid]

There was something about that phrase that usually brings out either one of two responses: for the person to sit, or for the person to challenge why they need to sit in the first place.

Jane is usually in the latter, but...she can't quite place it. There's something very strange and wrong with where she is, and dread is stewing in the pit of her stomach. So, she sits.

[emissaries]

Aradia knelt down, too, her ruffled skirt poofing out around her. Keeping the hand on her shoulder, she looked Jane directly in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I've seen this happen before... Your companion is dead."

[cyan_maid]

There's a moment where Jane's mouth just...hands open a little. She blinks once, twice. She leans to the side just slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of Jake. Still no movement, still no sound.

"But that's..." Jane shook her head. "No...no, that's ridiculous! He's right there! How could he be dead?"

[emissaries]

It hurt Aradia's heart to have to do this, but she couldn't very well lie about it. The best she could do was try to explain. Try to give her a reason for the senseless destruction. Or at least a cause.

"They call it the Calamity," she said quietly. "It's not clear what, precisely, but something in this world caused a disaster that makes the Reckoning look like an afternoon in the plastic sphere pit. The Calamity started a wave of destruction that's traveled through space and time, tearing apart not only its world of origin, but every other universe it touches.

"Every so often, someone is left intact, like you or I. But everyone else..." She turned her eyes to Jake's body. "They're turned to ash where they stand."

[cyan_maid]

...She wasn't hearing this.

Nope, no, this wasn't right. This didn't make sense. There was no way this could have happened - what about the game? What about Roxy and Dirk, what about her Dad?

Jane's eyes sting, and all she wants to say feels caught in her throat. It couldn't be true, she wouldn't let it be true, she hadn't even found out if her Dad was dead or alive, she hadn't properly resolved things with her friends in person, she hadn't...even apologized to Jake yet. Or said a word to him that wasn't cruel or ridiculous.

And now everyone was dead?

She bites on her bottom lip, buck-toothed and quickly reddening in the face. There are no words, just a scrambled attempt to keep back a flood, and she shakes her head weakly in defiance.

[polariity]

Despite the amusing startled squeal, the Helmsman doesn't seem particularly brightened up from his usual disposition. There's just a narrow eyed glare, and then he raises one hand to point at his glowing eyes, the same color as the energy making everything float.

In fact, if she calms down a bit and takes a good look at him, she can find the very same energy eminating just a centimeter or so from his skin in certain areas like his limbs. He's far too emancipated and unused to having limbs to move them without any sort of psionic help. It's a bit of a necessity.

[cyan_maid]

Jane nods once in understanding, still a little dumbfounded. "Uh-huh. I, I see. That's...golly, that's something else entirely."

The absurdity of the situation is starting to get to her, and she relaxes a bit. She does notice the light coming from his limbs and such, and though she can figure out what it's there to do, she can't really pin down the why.

"S-Sorry to bother you. You just look like someone I've met before. Well, er, half of someone. It's complicated."

[polariity]

...Jane. Jane that makes no sense. Stop confusing the poor troll. He already thinks he's hallucinating. There's only really one way to respond to a statement like that, and it's to make a very confused face at the young human girl.