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 Much of the previous infrastructure has been replaced by futuristic looking machinery and tubes, some filled with similar looking liquids to the one the party has been carrying all this time.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…?

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Comments

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[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.

[titlecard]

Alright... [ slight hesitation... ] but what if I want to give you something?

[ He's taking the win when it comes to the thanks, but it just feels so inadequate from his end? Like, he's pretty confident that not only can he do more, but he should be. She helped him figure out a major life decision that, yeah, maybe he was going to come to terms with it on his own, but that doesn't change the fact that Reiju did ultimately help him. ]

Seriously. If there's anything you want that I can do somehow, I want to do it for you. It isn't me owing you anything. Just, I dunno... it'd make me happy to get the chance to do something for a friend.

[venomnom]

[Sometimes she forgets how there are people like this—people who give, simply because it's within their nature—beyond the kingdom's borders. Even now, Mark gives in more ways than he realizes as Reiju's smile widens at the last of his words, lips spreading apart to show a hint of teeth. She's surprised—pleasantly so.]

If that's what you think, you've already done enough. [Close-lipped again, she casts a sidelong glance at their companions.] Until I came here, I never imagined that I would find friends.

[titlecard]

[ Oh—

Reiju has a nice smile.

Mark isn't entirely sure where it's coming from at first, but his own smile grows as she explains. He doesn't have a proper heart at the moment, but there's the feeling of something swelling in his chest; a warmth that manifests itself as a bit of fuzziness, considering his present form. This is— This is what he's really wanted. To just make things good for others. Like this.

He follows her glance. ]

Of course.

[ And back to her.

They may not have spoken until later in the journey, but he's always been of the belief that everyone here was here for a reason. That they would all be committed to doing the right thing, and that always included Reiju. And when they had spoken, and even under dire circumstances, it had still been an encouragement of the right thing— Her friendship with others in the group, too—

He is just... happy for her. That this could maybe mean as much as delivering the cure did. ]

Don't ever forget it, alright?

[venomnom]

[A slight distortion catches in her periphery. She waits for a heartbeat, then two, before facing Mark again. They're not particularly close—she made sure of that with most of the party—but sincerity is another matter. Mark is far more earnest than she is, and his consideration is like a gentle balm in the eye of the storm she's due to plunge back into once the mission officially ends.

People like Mark—Soujuurou, too—are rare. She knows better than to take their sentiments for granted, so she grants him this: the mirthful crinkle of her eyes as her lips lift from the heart.]

I won't. Thank you.