[LYNCH] Twilight VIII: Future Imperfect

[Colesign]

Richard Seaton

The Caverns of the Black Egg device get ripped open by scintillating beams of energy, ravening rods of destruction, and the raw pull of Attractor Arrays, baring the sky Kamen Rider's view.

The Skylark III descends, and Richard Seaton descends down from a hatch, suspended from a platform of glowing force, arms folded. He reaches out his hand to Decade.

"Sir! I'd recommend coming with me, seeing as I'm going to blow this place to Hellagone fairly imminently!"

[AnimeKid]

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry

Rex

He struggles with the thought of activating nanites on purpose before he relectantly decides to do so or else White Knight would have his hide. He runs towards the enemy slamming his palm into one of them activating the nanites. He jumps away as he feels a distinct feeling of disgust.

Bobo and Six

Bobo holsters his laser pistols as the robots fall, "Now that's what I call a computer crash," he then laughs at his own joke. Six then speaks up, "No time to laugh, do you think you got all of them?" he asks Hiro.

Kevin

Kevin is watching this as he stands by in case he is needed. He feels his Geass itch for use as he covers it in the Riders presence.

[darkblade]

Seaton

((You may wish to reconsider that. The egg is rather deeply under the city. It has been evacuated but thats a lot of property damage.))

***

Six

"It's all of them." Hiro nods. Reports from Providence confirm that every one of the robots has been disabled.

***

Rex

You are lucky that the machine have all been disabled by Hiro. You never even get a chance to use the nanites.

[Colesign]

Richard Seaton

[I'm pretty sure Richard can fix it...eventually. If you don't want me to blow up the Black Egg, then I can do something else, though.]

[LoneMage210]

Decade

As the Violent Emotion grips Tsukasa's mind, he begun to resist the urge, as he'd wonder what seems to be wrong with the Empress... however, his hand is now grabbing the staff, ready to wrestle it out of her hands...

[darkblade]

Final Battle

((Give her a Final Attack Ride and end it))

The staff is pulled from Molly's grasp leaving her momentarily vulnerable as the egg is smashed open.

Tsukasa doesn't hear Seaton's warnings over his own rage filled fury.

[Colesign]

Richard Seaton

[Let's just say that Seaton drilled through the Earth with precision, and that, when he does destroy the Black Egg, he'll do it with a controlled explosion contained underground]

Richard Seaton steps off of his force field platform just in time to see a defenseless and catatonic Molly about to be killed by an enraged Kamen Rider.

He instinctively charges forward and attempts to restrain Decade from killing a defenseless woman.

It's sheer instinctive 1920's pigheaded chivalry that prompts this rash action, supplemented by the knowledge that Ms. Carpenter was once a good person, and fused together with a rising tide of frustration at all the death that has occurred today.

It's got to stop!!

[darkblade]

((He took away her staff. She's still consious and dangerous.))

[Draxx]

((We should have left in on my note. A bang, with the world in chaos, the future uncertain, and everyone who still cares free to speculate and imagine their own ending. This feels a bit too forced, in my opinion. Besides, isn't she catatonic and alone in a walled off part of her own subconscious? Or does nobody actually read my posts?

Anyway, we are trying a new, experimental genre in this game, and adding a lot of complexity that wasn't there before. The least we can do is try to end it on a note worthy of all the effort we've put into making this game different, rather then the 'we win, badguy defeated, world goes back to normal.' Lets put some complexity in it.))

[Colesign]

[Draxx is right: Molly is unconscious at the moment.

I also suppose that the reason why this isn't ending yet it because everyone wants to chip in to the ending.]

[Draxx]

((Well look, apparently V's plan didn't really be appreciated in it's terrible magnitude because everyone wants the game over. But the way I see it, Seaton now has to destroy the machine. Which doesn't matter, V's made every single person on the planet see that they are not happy with their lives in an instant, and broken them out of their stupor (and he didn't need a fraction of as many words as John Galt to do it). His work is done, the idea is planted, and ideas are notoriously hard to eradicate. Some sort of revolution is inevitable, though it might not be violent, it depends on the participants.
If they are thrown back into a stone-age because of it (which would be a very interesting foundation for future games, let me say, and tie back nicely to Roland's warnings of 'the world moving on') then he sees that as acceptable losses.
So it's really down to, 'what does the White Doll' do, more then 'what do we do with Molly. Sort of think of this as the ending to Kingdom Come, as the Specter looms above the world, and judges man. What does it see?))

[darkblade]

I was assuming that your post hadn't gone through yet due to time differences in reality and inception but that works too I guess.

Well then that's all folks.

[LoneMage210]

Decade Epiloge

With the Staff in Tsukasa's hands, he managed to prevent the Violent Emotion power from killing the Empress. Is it a sudden insight, as if someone somehow took away the Violent Emotion? Or is it something else... but he has no time to wonder, as the Egg of RahXephon was broken, an infant version of the infamous Dolem appeared though it

"What is this..." Tsukasa spoke but he had no time to explain... as he suddenly disappeared in the Void of Time itself... with the staff in his hands...

Where he is going? No one knows...

[Colesign]

Richard Seaton

[With your permission, Draxx, I'll narrate a bit of Seaton in such a way that the implications of V's final act of Revolutionary exhortation is described, and a open-ended climax is reached like you hoped.

Far be it from me to try and disrupt such a masterful game of manipulation as orchestrated by you. I've had a great time, and a good time with your characters]

[Draxx]

V

((Nah, I'm cool with it. Thank you Darkblade for an awesome game, that every step of the way gave me a highly memorable and engrossing experience, along with an opportunity to explore a very different style of play. I had a lot of fun, and I hope you did to. If you will narrate a close to all this with me?))

He stood in the Shadow Gallery, and paused a moment, surveying it all through masked eyes. Without a word, he turns, activating a switch, and with that cuts the place away from the world and into a small, enclosed bubble, a dimension in the Nevernever inaccessible to anyone without the key, that would not be breached by time or malice, that even the nanomachines that would strip away everything would never find. But one day, it would be found, he had made sure of that, leaving the key with Lelouch. Here was a sealed box, the penultimate collection of human culture, that he would save for those to come next. One day it would be found, and perhaps they would marvel at the insight. Perhaps they would call it a mystery. Perhaps there would be no interest, they would not see and understand the significance. He didn't know.

It was in the hands of a higher power then him.

"Yesterday is History. Tomorrow, a mystery. But Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." he says silently, before he switches of the light, plunging the room into darkness. "Goodbye. How lucky I am to have known something that is so very hard to say goodbye to."

He turns to C.C. and bows, a slow, elaborate bow. "I promised to restore the power of the courts. Return balance to the world. I have not. But I have given you opportunity. You can make of it what you will. I will not remain. I shall wander a while, there is so much of the universe, and so little of me. But I shall never return here. I must make way for new hands, less bloodied then mine. Lelouch shall do well. In the end, of all those I had raised to be my heirs, he is the least disappointing. But he only became that way when I let go."

He offers her his arm again, as he did in Molly Carpenter's castle after they left her mind. He is not insistant, but in his own quiet way makes it plain that this is her last chance. "In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy. But you are a slave of a more insidious master still. Obligation. It has its claws in you, and you will not try to remove them."

He pauses, letting her consider his words. "Come with me, C.C. you have nothing to lose but your chains." He seems sincere. For the first time in all she has known him, she senses no ulterior motive, no subtle mannipulation. It is a true and heartfelt offer, and in it's own way a tempting one.

"All sin tends to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is what is called damnation. Break free, even if only for a little while. Let me show you wonders you never dreamed off. And let me show you freedom. Come with me, be my lady Anarchy, and let us ride together now."

He pauses. "Rosebud."

[darkblade]

((I'll narrate epilouges for anyone who wants them.))

V

"You won, twice even." C.C. says turning away from V, tears that wizards would kill for run down her cheek as she does so.

"Most men cannot claim that at the end. Be content with what you have." The Summer Lady says walking away across the rubble left in the wake of your revolution.

Before anything else can be said or done there is the sound of a gun being cocked behind the masked man and the chill of cold steel rising upon the butt of his neck. "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay. I told you it wasn't finished between us, Father."

***

Decade

((You didn't ask for this but I just finished watching the series and I'm pissed off by the ending. So you get a free happy ending.))

A voice you haven't heard for time cries out in joy. "Tsukasa!"

It's Natsumi. Somehow you found her again, things can be made right once more. You turn to face the sound and find yourself in the middle of the familar photo studio. Alongside not only Natsumi but Yuuske and Katio as well. You haven't found your world yet but you have returned home.

[Draxx]

V

“May all your dreams, but one, come true.” He replies, with a weary sort of contentment, as though her rejection was as much what he wanted to hear. It was as he had said, one should be wary of victory, for it’s toll can be worse the defeat. One should always have a few things left to strive for.

Then he hears his son, and stops. "No. It's finished." He replies, turning to his son. "There is nothing between us anymore." he says, turning to look at Lelouch. He stares another moment, then looks down at the gun. You wonder if he's going to say something else for a moment, then he spreads his arms.

"Is that it? Is that all you bring? Bullets, and the hope that when you run out I will not be standing, because if I am you will be out of hope." He sakes his head. Dissapointment. A feeling you are well aquainted of when you talk to this man. "I thought better of you."

"We compound our suffering by victimizing each other. Well either fire or put the gun down before I put you down."

[darkblade]

V

Lelouch lowers the weapon. "Everything I ever worked for you undid in minutes for this? I hope it was worth it."

With that he walks away. Eventually he'd find his way to the Kuragui Shrine and Gensyuko, the Japanese Nightside. He'd take Shirley and his son and start anew on another world away from his dark legacy, it's failures and it's successes.

A new dark age had begun and with it a man who had mastered all the world had to offer was left with nothing but the blood on his hands and ghosts of memories. Not even a martyr's death.

[Draxx]

V

"Was it worth it?" He stops. "I cannot answer that for you. Or anyone. But I have few regrets. When you cast aside yours, perhaps you will uncover why." Then he turns, and steps into the darkness. Nobody remembers the man.

The symbol remains.

[Colesign]

Richard Seaton

[I had a great time too]

Richard Seaton gently placed the still form of Molly Carpenter in the Stasis Tank, then flicked a switch, activating a Stasis field, enclosing the Empress Blackstaff, Ruler of the New Britannian Empire in a pocket of frozen time.

He took a step back and gazed around.

He stood in one of the atrium areas of the Skylark III, currently in high Earth Orbit, a large viewscreen against one of the walls showing an images of the Earth below, after all the years still beatiful and blue.

He wasn't alone. Restrained by beams and manacles lay J'onn Johnson, the Martian Manhunter, the lonely young lady who was still restrained within the metaphysical images of a Dark Tower, and the Three enthralled Knights of the Cross, unresponsive ever since the fall of their Empress.

Seaton stood there, staring at the Earth, hands clasped behind his back. He took out a remote, pressing several buttons on it.

Zoomed in satellite images, newscams, and video feeds painted a picture of an Earth in flux. There was still smoke pouring out of the hole he'd blasted into Neo-Tokyo. In all the major cities, citizens were out on the streets, government building were being torn out, franchise symbols were being smashed, as the individuals of Earth's societies torn down their old worlds with a passion and fury that astounded the Scientist Adventurer. There was destruction, and there was rebuilding: Gardens being planted, strange monuments being raised up, strange gatherings and chantings, a buss of furious activity: in Europa, the local Sparks seemed to have dropped their quibblings and were collaborating on strange and terrifying machines. On the border of Lavertia, a strange cloud of some sort of silvery substance was spreading out across the landscape, leaving blackouts in it's wake.

It gave Seaton a headache so far. He cut off the video feeds and stared at his restrained guests.

He helped stop the monsters that were planning to destroy this planet: for better or worse, the people there were taking their destinies into their own hands.

Richard Seaton rubbed at his face, which then firmed into an expression of purest keen steel.

He had promises to keep. He had a son to cure of half-Vampirism: those tests he did suggested a potential treatment with 6th Order Technology. He had a group of shattered minds, minds that needed to be restored to the healthy and free state they deserved to be in. From the looks of things, there was probably a group of Wardens trapped onboard the Skylark of Valeron: they could use some help.

He had a family to love and look after.

He went to the bridge and inputed coordinates. First to Mars to pick up his familiy. Then to the Green System and the planet Normalonia. The Normalonians grasp of the mental sciences was second to none.

And if the Earth needed help after, he'd give it to them: clean, limitless energy: intergalactic travel: the greatest scientific advances he possessed. He'd help them rebuild, if they were willing to accept his help.

And from there...well, he'd play that by ear.

Far above in the twinkling sky, the purple-white dirigible-esque bulk of the Skylark III began to glow, silhouetted against the heavens like a bird in flight.

And then, with a discharge of blazing energies...

....it was Gone!!!!!

[Here's to ya, E.E. "Doc" Smith *Raises a Toast to the Father of Space Opera*]

[doliest]

Christabella
Her eyes vaguely creaked open, letting her view the world through her hair. It took her a moment to register the world in front of her. Pink walls. Pink. Walls. With a unicorn painting on the wall. No. NO. NO NONONONONONONONO. She jumps from the bed, slamming her fist against the door, screaming and roaring at it. Nononononononono. She calls upon her flame and ice, but they're gone. Gone again. No. No. She slumps in front of the door and stares at the pink walls, the childish paintings. The closed windows.

She was in her room.

She was home.

She was in hell. And all she could do was weep.

[nanobot_swarm]

Pop Secret Ending
The threat is over, or is it? Realizing that their power will soon be gone with the masses throwing away their governments and corporations, the Illuminati grow desperate. The pretentious old men bent on ruling the world will not let their power go without putting up a fight, thus the High Council of Vague Conspiracies votes 8-1 (even in the Illuminati, there's a That Guy too) to unleash their weapon of vengeance. A weapon so horrible, it would only have been used as a last resort, if even that. Thus they push the big, shiny red button, and every speaker in the world goes up to maximum volume and starts saying:

Spoiler

Show

(Yeah, Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ark)
Oo-ooh-ooh, hoo yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Seven a.m., waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein' everything, the time is goin'
Tickin' on and on, everybody's rushin'
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)

Kickin' in the front seat
Sittin' in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?

It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin' down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend

Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin' forward to the weekend

7:45, we're drivin' on the highway
Cruisin' so fast, I want time to fly
Fun, fun, think about fun
You know what it is
I got this, you got this
My friend is by my right, ay
I got this, you got this
Now you know it

Kickin' in the front seat
Sittin' in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?

It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin' down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/friday-ly...cca-black.html ]


Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin' forward to the weekend

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin')
We-we-we so excited
We so excited
We gonna have a ball today

Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after ... wards
I don't want this weekend to end

R-B, Rebecca Black
So chillin' in the front seat (In the front seat)
In the back seat (In the back seat)
I'm drivin', cruisin' (Yeah, yeah)
Fast lanes, switchin' lanes
Wit' a car up on my side (Woo!)
(C'mon) Passin' by is a school bus in front of me
Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream
Check my time, it's Friday, it's a weekend
We gonna have fun, c'mon, c'mon, y'all

It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin' down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend

Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin' forward to the weekend

It's Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin' down on Friday
Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend

Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Partyin', partyin' (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin' forward to the weekend

Of course it goes horribly wrong, killing off 90% of the world's population, including all members of the Illuminati high council save the lone dissenter. Who was that guy, why Vladimir Putin of course, who alone now stands to take control of the world.
Just as planned.

Spoiler

Show

Happy April Fools Day!

Actual Endings

Icarus
As electrical technology across the world began its shutdown, he determined to perform one last action before he inevitably entered oblivion, kill his "brother" Daedulus. He managed to corner the AI and began a relentless assault to tear apart his coding, but something was wrong, he was absorbing, not destroying Daedulus. In the last nanoseconds before he merged with Daedulus, he realized just what his creators intentions for him were...

Helios
Daudulus and Icarus had emerged into one entity, Helios, an AI with nigh limitless power when it came to this dying net. It realized that its time was short, and sought a way to preserve itself for the Dark Age, when the knowledge and power it possessed would be needed most. It sent a call out, and soon found a candidate to do so...

Denton
Six wardens lay about the room in a state of unconciousness, while one man stood with a pistol pointed towards his skull. He failed to prevent the new dark age, and could not bear to see the world fall into the devestation it surely would. His finger slid onto the trigger when a voice in his head beckoned for him to come to it, in Area 51. Denton's arm limply fell to his side, as he took in a deep breath and decided to comply, and with the speed of sound found himself in a descent to the facility.
The complex was evidently abandoned, everyone jumping ship at the sign the world governments were crumbling apart, no one would want to be caught with the horrors in Dreamland. He descended into the facility, finding the ocasional corpse of someone inconvienent to be left alive, he saw secrets and atrocity's that could have sunken the government hundreds of times over. On several screens a countdown till an H-Bomb in the base went off and blew everything inside halfway to hell, was locked ever-frozen, the work of Helios no doubt. He finally made his way to a chamber with a capsule hooked up to the ceiling, and no doubt to the Universal-Constructor and Aquinus Router. After a brief conversation with Helios, he conceited and entered the capluse, where after a minutehe had fully encorporated Helios into his mind...

JC
The capsule reopened, the moment mankind created its own God, born from the Trinity that was Denton's augmented form, the vast knowledge of Helios, and the power of the Universal Constructor over the building-blocks of matter. This new being would end the New Dark Age just as it began, create a brave new world without fear or want, ruled by the firm and caring hands of a benevolent dictator. Or perhaps not, the future is not set in stone, mankind is free to make its own destiny.


"If There Were No God, It Would Be Necessary To Invent Him."
-Voltaire