Starfall Tears (Combine, Open)

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#61
As the Kurogane detonated underneath causing segments to spiral every which way realization struck, even in this diminished of a state she could once more use her full mobility, the wrathful proclamation of his name echoing across the silent stars almost triumphantly. But he wouldn't let this be the end even as corpses flew past his attention was on one thing, a coffin of sorts launched from the Kurogane and now caught by the Duraxyll as space began to warp around him. A final declaration as he was taken away from it all into where the wrathful 'god' was sending him.

"Ngh- No!"

It was the same as then, that day that the fled but this time it held a much more ominous feeling within his chest. This was no journey to safe harbor this time. It was quite the opposite, this was a cage and Duminass intended to hold the sole key out. He needed to be quick, as the new sun beamed against his machine his eyes darted between Duminass and the coffin. The damage was bad, arguably to both but compared to the coffin in his hand the bleeding god before him was still moving and trying to kill him out of ire. The Hyper Oscillation claw pried between the coffin and its lid, they had called it Etna originally. For within it was Typhon, and in this case once more it was the only way for him to escape the clutches of Duminass.

Unlike last time however she wasn't giving up and unlike then too, he was all alone this time. The light of the sun faded, replaced by the shadow of the eternal rival and the dim green light that came from it as Duraxyll's uncanny eyes focused between the coffin and Duminass herself as the hands came around the machine it pried open its prize, launching the lid off into the pocket dimension to plink against the inside of the hand of its jailor. A prison, a cage. From which there was intended to be no escape, intent he didn't plan on ringing true.

The white sphere provided a momentary distraction, a vision of all that had passed this day blended with her memories as well as his... Visions of what had once been home. He grit his teeth he would not let this be the end, to let Duminass drag him down with her. Even if he had to kick and scream he would push on there would be a tomorrow. This reality, this memory of reality... It would not be the end of him!
'Nobody can help you here' She declared, she was wrong. They had already helped him-

His mind rested on visions of ashes and darkness, how many corpses had he trot over, how much ashes fell ahead of him... And in his wake. Yet he never dared lose sight of that precious thing, tomorrow. Every time someone had tried to take it from him he fought back with them by his side- if he ever lost sight how could he face the many ghosts trailing in his footsteps. No- no he couldn't face them until their mission was complete. Until the perfect world existed once more.

Then he would face the past. When the future was safe.

It looked like a cross, Typhon that is, as he peered at it inside its canister. As the hands came down upon him the Duraxyll put a finger onto it. Prometheus' eyes moved to the singularity that approached. A deep breath. A purple sphere built up, exploding outward and swallowing the Duraxyll. He needed but make a declaration.
"CODE APOLLON!"​

No time to indicate coordinates, he'd die before being able to name anywhere not that he knew the coordinate system for it. The engineers knew that system. No, this was simply to be anywhere but here. Any place that was not in the grasp of Duminass was better then perishing with it as its arms crushed the Duraxyll's arms. Even if he would be thrown to his death elsewhere denying her this moment was enough.

He closed his eyes, gazing upwards. And then- Vanished.
 
Nov 12, 2018
52
0
6
#62
The sight of Duminass' body collapsing beneath massed fire brought Elhirut neither relief or catharsis. The final embers of the battle were simply vanishing. No, not vanishing, retreating - no, no, no, no, no. How many lives were slipping away at this moment? How many had disappeared into the inferno of the Kurogane? How many would die trapped within the Tantra, never to find the future they'd traveled years for? Maddening, maddening, infuriating, so unfair, so unfair, so unfair - he'd been there. He'd fought - he'd fought, he'd cried, he'd prayed, he'd tried.

So why were there so many dead?

How could people scream so loudly without air?
Calm yourself. Their lives don't matter.
Solemnly, the Org-Valu whirled, thrusters exploding to life. Their light was outdone in entirety by Duminass' final flare, and for the briefest of moments, it appeared as if there would be no escape, that he'd pushed his machine too far, that'd he'd pay for his rage in fiery death - but then, the acceleration hit, and Prometheus was left to his fate. The Psychodriver's chest tightened once more, another swell of unbidden emotion quavering in the back of his throat. It was wrong, it wasn't right, there should've been a way - but there was nothing. No one else should have had to offer themselves in sacrifice today - but it was just a drunken dream, the wish of someone who had overseen but not witnessed.

That's right.

After all, this was -
This is reality.
"...Yes. We evacuate. Your concern is appreciated. Thank you."

A cold venom crept from Elhirut's lips. Festering. The knot in his heart had hardened, calcified, a hollow center encrusted in useless anger. It was disappointing, almost - sadness was visceral, hatred was easy to indulge, but as the adrenaline faded, the emptiness left behind was unbearable. His head fell, and he allowed his gaze to settle on the cracked display before him, eyes tracing the now-meaningless readouts. Some unknown impulse boiled as he stared, and he reached forwards to switch the damaged screen off, letting the monitor fade to black.

Was that his face reflected, streaked by drying tears?

"We're done."

The Org-Valu accelerated again, rocketing towards the distant Hiryu. If it were to turn its sensors backwards, there they would probably be - Elhirut's impermanent consolation, the Ganonia and the too-many Getviewms following close behind on the final stretch.

But even with the faith he still held -

He kept his eyes on his remaining screens the entire way back, as if to hold on to their machines with just his own gaze.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#63
"All personnel retrieved!"
"Tesla Boost Drive, activate! Get us out of here!"

A brilliant blast of light - and the Hiryu, now laden with crew and refugees alike, cannoned away from the battlefield. The acceleration rattled every part of the ship, not even the EOT present in its frame could muffle the din. The Shadow Mirror soldiers currently being patted down and herded into cells, the few Circle refugees that had been saved, and those fighting for their lives in the infirmary - none were spared.

The first MAPW appeared on the horizon, a dull grey missile that arced through the void. It slammed home into the flank of the Tantra - and in an instant, a chunk of the ship was vaporized in the fierce explosion. More began to rain down, one after another, the Directory's ultimate tactical weapon resembling the burning hail of a God from legend, each blow tearing more and more of the ship apart, flaying its insides into hot, molten streams that shot out like spears from its body before instantly freezing and collapsing in on themselves. For over twenty minutes the bombardment continued, until the surface of the once great ship resembled burning magma that boiled and sputtered and split under every strike.

1614094369823.png


When it was over... when the waves, the brightness, finally subsided... Only a faintly glowing husk was left, drifting in the vacuum. Tattered scraps of metal and superstructure that had once been home to over forty-thousand souls, now lost forever.

In the hangar, Alan Cicero regarded Elhirut solemnly as the two watched the live feed being transmitted from the Hiryu's external cameras, the entire room observing in a hushed, awed silence. Never before had such a wrathful demonstration of destruction been wrought before the eyes of man.

"Never forget this." He said quietly, as he closed his eyes.

They had survived. Duminass was dead, but so too was Madin, and any hope for peace between the Circle and the people of Earth. The malevolent intellect that had overseen the entire ploy remained at large, and now? It knew their names, their faces. Despite the sense of finality, Cicero couldn't help but shake the sense that things were only beginning.



Later that evening...
Shinryu Infirmary



"...Nn."

Eris Pseudea's eyes fluttered open. Bright lights danced overhead as she tried to focus, groaning as she pulled herself upright in the infirmary.

"Where... am I?"

A hand flew to her throat as she gasped, the most recent memory of the horror that Decima had subjected her to rising to the fore... but, there was nothing. Had it all been a dream? What had happened to XN-L, to Vulyn, and the Medius? The scent of recycled air was so familiar, another realization quickly hit her: She was... home? In space?

Slowly she pieced her thoughts together as she folded her legs, letting one hand fall into an open palm, massaging a terrible headache. Everything... was just a blur. And yet-

I swear I heard Sayuri just now.
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#64

Laura opened her eyes, the light that welcomed her like numerous pinpricks into her eyes. Nope, couldn't move anything. Looks like she would just...stare ahead then, the others seemed to still be sleeping so couldn't distract herself with that either.

This sucked. Not that she was packaged like a mummy and had almost died after the angry yarn ball took over - though that sucked as well. Not even that this wasn't Kurogane because that got blown up quite spectacularly. No, what sucked was that her mind was all sluggish, no thinking several things at once, just being relegated to one line of thought - was this what others felt like all the time? Ew, this was awful no wonder they tended to be so boring if their existence was this miserable, if they can't even think about whether cows think that horns are hot while burning some poor hero's house with an incendiary - oops, she wasn't supposed to think about those things anymore was she? Either way, this was miserable.

So Prometheus bit it. That was odd. Not him dying, she really wanted to kill him herself, but more the lack of anything to go with it. No elation, more just emptiness. Not sadness, but just lack of feeling anything.

She blinked.

This really sucked. Could she just fall asleep for a week or two?



Some time later

Alas, sleep evaded her, but Laura's salvation came when she heard shuffling to her right. And her head was slowly getting better as well.

"Is our sleeping princess finally awake?" She called out in a hoarse voice, looking like a mummy and still incapable of moving any of her body parts. She was still looking at Eris from the corner of her eyes, which were dyed completely red by blood. "This is still the land - spaceship really - of the living, despite the talking mummy! Ahaha -urk!" Laura began to laugh, but the fit quickly devolved into wheezing coughs. "Owwww, laughing hurts bad. Even worse, I broke my funny bone - well, more it was broken for me I didn't get my body to this condition on my own I had help - so I'll likely be laughing a lot."

She coughed a few times more.

"So, hello, I'm Laura, here because an angry yarn ball decided to take over me with its thread but I'm back now and all the better for it, and currently dying of boredom - though pleasantly enough no longer dying for real. How did you end up here?"
 
Aug 4, 2018
334
0
16
Somewhere in the UK
#65
Pain. Painpainpain. Painkillers!

Kathryn had been in that little cycle for hours at this point - jolting awake with shocks of pain, and then fading back into the dreamless embrace of a well-tuned drug cocktail. Few thoughts escaped that void. Flashes of the Valsione's destruction... those same few words echoing through her mind.

"Goodbye, little doll."​

But this time, something interrupted the blackness. A voice.. two voices. One she knew, one she didn't - although even the unknown one seemed faintly familiar. The memories were brushed away and the present beckoned. Even if the present was full of pain - not all of which could be drugged away.

...Okay, it could. But not with the blend they were giving her. And it wasn't like Kath could smuggle recreational drugs into an alien hospital. She perked up a little, craning her neck around to find the source of the voice. It took a moment to place it, but the revelation made her smile.

"Hang on.. Laura?"

"And I thought I had it bad! Didn't recognize you under all the medical crap. What happened? You looked like you were kicking all kinds of ass before the Valsione got squished.. but I guess I missed a fair bit."

She shifted herself up in her own bed to get a better look at the fox, ignoring the other conscious patient for now. They seemed boring, and weren't even that injured! Not that Kathryn had much high ground on that front. Outside of a cast on one arm the majority of her own wounds had been fixed up fairly quickly, but the burns that now covered her face weren't life threatening at all.

They were just.. ugly. And she hated that far more than anything else that had happened to her today. Sure, they could fix it with some effort. Cover them up, slap some new skin on top, make it good as new. But it'd never look the same. Machines were disposable, to an extent - something she could replace, or get replaced, and have as good as new all over again no matter what happened. This? Wasn't. Losing a machine? A battle? They stung, but nothing more.

What really hurt was losing her face.
 
Jun 28, 2018
100
0
6
#66
While there was no visible occupant matching Sayuri's description in the infirmary at the moment, there was a shipping box sitting atop a table by her bedside. A simple, run of the mill cardboard box with a kanji on it, stylized into a face with a tongue cheekily peeping out one side. Tsu, or , or a pun for To or Two. On the top was a label indicated it was for one Eris Pseuda, while the return address was some nonsense about Bhavagra in the Milky Way.

Although not visible just yet, within the dark of the package rested a smaller box with a selection of cupcakes numbering... well, slightly less than half the original total. Neatly arranged with a note stuck atop their container. A tiny slip, just enough to bear the words: