week 8

[biteys]

WEEK 8

da boaty

For the remaining survivors, the path ahead is relatively straightforward, even if it means they’re going to have to become seafarers to get there. There’s only one last destination to get to, and that’s Alcatraz, or what used to be a historic prison on an island many, many years ago in this world.

As the group will have already discovered, there are a number of abandoned boats nearby the campsite which have fuel that can be siphoned; there should be a boat that’s big enough for everyone to squeeze onto. The even better news? The ride is only a short, crisp fifteen minutes in the bay’s morning fog.

Upon getting to the island, the group will notice that while the buildings of the prison definitely shown signs of wear and tear… it’s not as bad as some of the other buildings they’ve come across on their trip. Perhaps the isolation by water has kept the prison from deteriorating to a more extreme state, and kept increased threats over the years from getting in…

The doors to the prison are unguarded and unlocked, and interestingly, unpopulated. Whatever used to roam these halls is no more: you can hear some distant growling a far ways away from where you are, but it is almost as though anything that could make a sound has all been concentrated into some distant part of the prison somehow.

And similar to the bunker the group stayed in all those weeks ago, it seems that there’s electricity here, if the lights are anything to go by. Lines of individual cells are abandoned and empty, and yet, light burns in each of them.

Venturing further into the prison, the party will come across a printer stationed in a guard’s office, that seems to have a litany of papers strewn about it, as if things had been printed and left there to fall off the stand… searching through them, there’ll be some puzzling messages typed out on them. Who could have written these?

da prisony

No further instructions come from the doctor, but as this is the last place on the map, and as the party may be emboldened by the strange messages they’ve found, it’s only a matter of time before the party finds the place they’re destined to go: the warden’s quarters. Much of the previous infrastructure has been replaced by futuristic looking machinery and tubes, some filled with similar looking liquids to the one the party has been carrying all this time.

And as the party enters… something strange happens with the bracelets they’ve all been carrying.

From each bracelet of a deceased party member, a hologram begins to be projected, three dimensional and semi-corporeal. They are not completely solid, but can be touched: they will disperse into pixels and reform if hugged or hit too hard. For those who have been waiting here for the rest of the party, they’ve finally found a way out of the machines and into a place they couldn’t access before. Reunite, hug, cry! Catch up!

As the doctor is still nowhere to be found, and it’s difficult to tell what you’re supposed to do with the ‘cure’ you’ve lugged all this way, you might as well spend some time sniffing about. As promised, there does seem to be an identical portal to the one that had been in Dr. Bei’s house. There are plenty of cots to sleep in, and the food here, while bland as it is mostly rations and nutritional bars, is abundant.

Deceased characters retain the ability to conjure holograms of items and images, and alive characters gain this ability through their bracelet. Neat!

da doctory

It might have felt like the doctor had abandoned you all, but she appears herself as a hologram eventually, simply to give a final message. As the residents here have already discovered, she seems an intimidating and cold woman, as her messages would have given off.

Place the container on the stand to the west of this room, and your mission is complete. From there, it’ll be dispersed into the air around this city as an aerosol… though it’s far from being able to eliminate all infected from the entire world, and immunize all who are left. The city will be an alright start. Those bracelets were programmed as keys to the portal; you needed all of them to be able to access it. While I didn’t expect my colleague to have reserved my consciousness, nor all of yours within their data… be grateful she did. Now even the dead among you should be capable of rejoining with an existing body of yours in the timeline. I’ve ensured the portal won’t activate until my aerosol is done administering. Don’t try to break out. Wait a few days, then you can go — time and place you want, like I said.

… and not even a thank you! Well, to be fair, she didn’t expect to be alive at this point to thank them, so maybe that plays a role. But, it’s as she says: they’ll need to wait a few days before they’re able to make it back to where they came from. Might be a good time to discuss where and when you’ll be going…?

code

Comments

[titlecard]

i. reunions

[ Popping back into the real world is way more pleasing than it is disorienting, though it still kinda is the latter. It isn't even as though Mark has been dead that long (comparatively), but for someone much more used to punching and fighting, it's nice to be back to something physical. Kind of.

That isn't the reason he's beaming at you as his hologram forms, though. ]

You guys made it! Oh man, am I glad to see you.

[ You're still alive! He's. Mostly still alive. It all worked out, ]


ii. optimism, again

[ The cure is here, and even those lost along the way have a second chance. The whole thing feels like a success, so... ]

It all worked out in the end, didn't it?

[ Said with a gentle smile. Somebody's feeling a lot better now that there isn't an impending doom hanging over him. ]


iii. wildcard

[ or whatever! maybe you have the chance to react before he says anything, or if you have a response for a message he may have left you, ]

ii

[bicth]

[ Hella scowls, folding her arms haughtily over her chest. She's still favoring one leg over the other, the break in the last stages of mending itself — she has bandages all over one side of her face and one arm, too, though she acts just the same as if the wounds weren't there. ]

Humph. You're way too forgiving, dumbass... you literally died because of them!

[ She flicks her eyes to the side at him briefly, still feeling strange about everyone coming back in such an abrupt and mysterious way. Perhaps fairly, her trust that everything will be fixed by the doctors' methods is low, after all they've suffered. ]

I won't forget a single thing we had to do. Not ever.

[ Maybe it'll all work out... but that won't take back all they endured. ]

[titlecard]

[ Mark's smile fades, more at Hella's words than her current state. While a part of him would prefer she act as though her wounds actually were there — act as though her body, her suffering matters, take steps to avoid it, not just offer herself up like a sacrificial lamb (or... however she got hurt; he mostly remembers the sacrificial lamb part) — there is a sort of comfort to Hella ignoring them. That she's still herself, strong and capable and proud.

Her words, though. His form slumps, Mark heaving out a breath he doesn't necessarily have to take. Just. ]

I don't think we should forget. I just think that, I don't know, what we did here is more important. I died, but if it helped save people then it's okay. I mean... it's not like I wanted to, just... aaaaghh.

[ Why is this so difficult to figure out how to say... ]

Okay, starting over. I didn't want to die, but I'm still here. I don't want you to get hurt, but you're still here. And what we did will save so many more people, and I don't think it's a bad thing to focus on that. We can't change the past, but we're changing the future right now, aren't we? [ A more tentative smile this time. ] We shouldn't forget what we had to do, but that doesn't mean we didn't do good in the end.

[bicth]

Fine... maybe we did good in the end... but I'm still mad!

[ Flippant hand gesture at all the stupid TECHNOLOGY in this place. Her eyes are little swollen from crying, tear stains clear on her cheeks — maybe she's acting this way to save some more face, acting tough because she truly does hate to cry or look weak. It's been a long, long time since she ever cried so much... maybe since before her parents died. Uselessly, she sticks a leg out to kick him in the holographic shin, even though there's not a chance it'll actually connect or give him any pain. ]

And you — [ She points a gloved finger at him, trying to puff up and be feisty but mostly failing due to her obvious exhaustion. It's clear she's angry, but what's also clear is that the root is from intense worry and what used to be grief before half an hour ago when they were all reunited. ] You're getting hit too once you're back in your real body. Get ready for the ass kicking of a lifetime! Don't just fucking disappear on me like that ever again!

[titlecard]

[ A part of his shin does fragment into flying pixels; it's a fizzy sort of sensation, generally unpleasant but not particularly bad or anything. Just. Really odd, but harmless as his leg reforms.

Not that any of that is important compared to Hella and what she's saying. She's probably going to hate this, but he can't help but look at her sadly. Anger isn't an emotion he wants to focus on for... a lot of reasons, really... so Mark tries to sidestep it. Places his partially there, partially solid hands on her shoulders. (Wants to pull her in for a hug, but is kinda going to hold off on that first, actually.) ]

I'm sorry. There wasn't any other way— I'm sorry. [ His words are quiet, but it's not like Mark has any trouble looking at her as he says them. He means the apology, but at the same time, it's not like he has any regrets. ] Look, however I can make it up to you, I will.

[ ... Potentially preferably through violence rather than a demand for additional financial compensation, which he is increasingly confident he will not be able to follow through on. (Where is he supposed to get a DisCoin from...) Through really, if Mark gets a say? He'd vote for something else entirely, he just has no idea what. ]

[bicth]

[ "There wasn't any other way." She's still not sure she fully believes that, but after a handful of people have told her the same thing, and come to a similar outcome that he did, she has to concede that perhaps the infection was so all encompassing that it had made things feel that way. Hella knows not every ailment or disease can be cured — but she had wanted to believe that the end could be prevented, somehow, some way, like how the Chief's shackles prevent her and Ninety-Nine from inching closer to becoming Corruptors.

Still. Not like she particularly wants to mull over how futile all her efforts might have been, even if things had gone differently. She lets out a long sigh, eaching up to grip on to his semi-corporeal wrists. ]

Once I total up everything you owe me, you're gonna be so broke. Don't think this interdimensional bullshit will keep me from collecting...

[ Said like a Threat, though not one she means menacingly like a loan shark. ]

I'm glad you're okay and all... I guess you did get pretty weird towards the end.

[ She'll concede him that — that maybe there really was no other option. Because he was kind of, ahem, a freak back in the forest. ]

i

[empression]

Hello, Mark.

[ Smiling peacefully. Possibly emanating both fondness and hostility. Wow, what a mixture! ]

[titlecard]

[ why does he get the sense that he's in danger ]

Hi, Haru. [ His smile is more tentative now. His nervousness might be radiating off of his form. ] So... we both made it here okay...

[ Well. Relatively speaking. ]

... You're okay, aren't you?

[ Or did he mean to ask Are we okay? but one way or another he'll probably find out that answer. ]

[empression]

I'm fine. [ Still Smiling. ]

But asking Suzuha-chan, who has been through an extraordinary amount of suffering, to kill you was most certainly a choice, don't you think?

[titlecard]

[ A smile should be an objectively good thing. He knows this. Haru is okay and she is smiling! The former is good. The latter feels less good.

And now he knows why it feels less good, and Mark's smile fades. ]

I... yeah. [ Shamed. Humbled. ] I just... I mean...

[ He'd been so at peace with his plan to die. Formulated it, built it up in his head. He'd been ready for it, only for it to start crumbling apart once he'd actually, you know, talked to people. Talked to Haru; especially when he was in the midst of talking to Suzuha.

And things are okay now, but he's still back here — back to where he was then and there — stumbling through an explanation that had made so much more sense when it was just in his head.

Mark glances away. ]

... I knew she could do it, that's all.

[empression]

[ Sir. Sir. ]

And have you apologized to her profusely?

[ Have you???? ]

ii

[venomnom]

[Reiju smiles back. It's a good look on Mark after all the darkness that weighed down his expression not long ago.]

Yes, it did. [She tilts her head.] Are you yourself again?

[titlecard]

Um, aside from the whole, [ and he vaguely waves a hand in the air, not exactly flesh and blood. Aside from that thing, ] yeah. I've felt a lot better since I [ died ] ... woke up. I mean, a lot better.

[ A beat. ]

Thanks for talking with me about that. Telling me to do what felt right. I was totally lost, and you put it back into perspective for me. Helped me make the right call, and now we're all here, so. ... Thank you.

[venomnom]

[Since he died, he means. No wonder: It must be lot to process.]

You're welcome.

[A corner of her lips curls, turning her smile wry with a hint of amusement.]

But it was your call. Aren't you giving me too much credit?

[titlecard]

[ His own smile turns wry in turn, matching hers. ]

Is that a bad thing? I mean, you did help me.

[venomnom]

[It's a good thing. She does, however, have one complaint.]

I saw your message. I'll accept your thanks, but you don't owe me anything.

i

[parttimesoldier]

[Oh, you know Suzuha’s been holding onto that bracelet of his since doing the deed at the farm, so when his hologram flickers to life she is right there. And also incredibly jumpy, because she has been nothing but tense since that all went down and it doesn’t help matters that the quiet of this prison is suspiciously unsettling.

So she leaps back a step, then two, settling into a defensive crouch with her arm raised as if to strike—and then freezes when she realizes who it is she’s staring at. Her hardened expression slowly crumbles into something more akin to shock and disbelief.]

No way.

[Straightening up, she reaches forward to give a testing push at his shoulder; she blinks in surprise when she feels something almost solid. A harder shove follows if he doesn’t stop her, causing the hologram to begin fuzzing a little.]

No way!!

[Does she want to laugh or does she want to cry? Yes!]

[titlecard]

[ It's not like he knew how this was going to work, but... of course the first person he was going to see was Suzuha. She was the last person — the last anything, really — he saw before he'd died, so that she's here now... That she's made it...

He can't help but exhale a little laugh as she pushes at him. It's a little louder as she really shoves at him, causing some of the pixels that make up his present being to fly off before rejoining him. It's an absolutely bizarre sensation, kind of like a tickle, or drinking something carbonated way too fast, but it's all secondary compared to seeing her again. ]

Yes way. [ Stupid line, but his grin broadens. ] You didn't keep me waiting long at all.

[ When he'd first met Kotoha again after dying, he'd tried to hug her. They'd both failed spectacularly, but now that he can be touched, he goes in to try to hug Suzuha. ]

I knew I was in good hands with you.

[ Literally, apparently!! ]

[parttimesoldier]

[She settles on laughing first, encouraged by Mark’s own laughter. It’s short and bright and delighted as she moves in to accept that hug, even if she has no idea how this is even happening. It’s… odd, trying to hug a hologram that’s only partially solid. There’s not the comforting warmth of another body, but it’s something. She wants to squeeze him so tight, but she’s too afraid of how fragile he might be, so she settles for something more delicate.]

Well, you definitely made my job way easier.

[Shocking: this girl can finally catch a single break!]

How is this… It’s really you, right? I’m not like, losing my marbles here or anything?

[She peers up at him, questioning. Okay, maybe a useless question if she really is losing it here, but… how???]

[titlecard]

[ Yeah... he'd probably explode if she hugged him at full force, which, even though he'd reform again that might be an unwelcome experience, considering.

This is maybe the one chance Mark is ever going to get to squeeze as tight as he can himself, though, since he can't hurt anyone like this — and he isn't going to pass up the opportunity, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he hugs her full force.

Except it's probably a weird sensation for her too, so he pulls back. Eventually. (Doesn't stop gripping her shoulders, though... He doesn't want to let go this time.) ]

Yeah, it's me. [ Beaming. He may not be flesh and blood, but that smile is still his. ] I woke up, uh... inside this bright room, I guess? Kotoha was already here, and we couldn't leave, but we could see throughout the prison. And Dr. Bei was there too, somehow. She said her colleague found a way to preserve our consciousnesses, and but that we needed our bracelets to make it here too. So I guess that freed us somehow?

[ The whole thing still makes very little sense to him, but he's just been rolling with it for a couple of weeks already, ever since Dr. Bei refused to actually elaborate. Still. It's not like it matters now, as far as Mark is concerned — he's here, Suzuha is here, he got to hear Suzuha laugh again. It's music. It's maybe the best thing that could have happened to him.

He is absolutely not letting go. ]

Oh, man, Suzuha. I don't even know where to begin. I mean, I knew you were going to find some way to get us out, but thank you. This is just... It's so good to see you again.

iii

[irreversal]

[ Yeah she's holding up both his and Soujuurou's printed messages, because they both left her very vague good boy notes and she can't tell which one is which, though the formality of one over the other does give her a bit of a hint.

Still, she is waving the papers at him. ]

Oooooi. Was one of these you, Mark?

[titlecard]

[ And he's leaning in to get a better look at those notes. Yes, he definitely wrote to Shoko, but it's not like he knew what everyone else might have written— ]

Oh. [ As Mark gets a chance to read them both, since they're blissfully short. And he beams. ] Yeah, the doctor one was me. You helped me so much ever since... ah, you know.

[ Ever since he got bit... but why bring the mood down now? That was another lifetime ago, literally in his case, ]

I mean, I really couldn't have asked for anyone better. I just thought you should know that.

ii

[rifare]

[ It has been incredible to see the companions they lost along the way come back from the dead. Leontuzzo isn't going to pretend he fully understands the technology behind it, but everyone seems to be moving and behaving like they did before, so he can only assume... he can only hope it really is a faithful saving of their essence as a person, and not just a copy.

It gets to be a bit of a mind-fuck if he stops to think about that one too long, so for now he's letting his wary mind rest, and he's not letting himself considering it for long.

Instead he's letting Mark sit there and gloat (kindly) about this whole thing as he leans against a wall, a small smile on his face as he watches the nearby machine spewing out the cure. ]

You know... there's still a lot left that this world is going to have to do to come back from this.

[ His smile stretches wider as he looks at Mark. He knows by and large Mark has won this one when it comes to things working out for them in the end, so he figures it's fair for him to inject just a little more cautious pessimism right at the end here, even if his heart isn't in it right now. It's hard not to feel like things really did work out for them for the most part, even if some of them took harder knocks than others. ]

[titlecard]

[ Leon's smile earns a bigger one from Mark, though that's more due to being naturally expressive than any gloating. Or at least he doesn't see it as gloating, which, yeah, kind of—

It's just nice to see Leon smile, even if he is pointing out a very real problem here that they aren't going to be able to solve. But the fact of the matter is... Leontuzzo is smiling, and that's another win entirely. ]

Well... yeah. [ Point: conceded. ] I dunno, I guess it's a good thing to have realistic expectations, but we did something really good here. If the doctor can live with it being an alright start, then we have to too, right?

[ A beat. His smile fades a little with Leontuzzo getting in his little win over him, even if this is largely a happy occasion. ]

Back home, one of the hardest things I had to learn was that you can't save everyone. I might... still be learning that. So maybe it's okay to take the victories where you can. We gave this world a chance... That's gotta be enough.

[rifare]

[ Even if it was gloating, Leon thinks that Mark has earned the right with everything he's gone through. He might be "lucky" to have made it through this in a way that will allow him to return to life, but luck is subjective. He also suffered and died first.

So fine, gloat, Mark. A little enjoyment should be allowed for at the end of all of this anyway.

Just a little though apparently. It's a subtle change in Leon's expression now, a loosening of his lips that causes the ends of them to lower just a fraction, a tightening of the brow, and a haziness to his gaze. He is still smiling, but there's a profound sadness to it too.

The life he lived before never allowed for that kind of thinking in the first place. If anything human lives were meant to be seen as useless and disposable to him, and the fact that they weren't was a sign of weakness within him.

There is something tragic about someone like Mark existing, someone who believes in true good to an extent that may border on the delusional, but someone fairly pure... and having that someone lose some of his boundless hope for the world. It has to happen, because Mark is right in that lesson he learned, but it doesn't make it less bitter to hear. ]

Sometimes it's all you can get, but it's still better than the alternative.