interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK XIV: THE END COMPLETE

Entry tags:

☆TRACK XIV: THE END COMPLETE

Who: ALL WHO DARE ENTER.
What: The Grand Finale.
When: July 25th, 2055
Where: THE MOON.
Warnings: All kinds of things, I'm sure.

“These are the days. The end complete. 
The world still turning to the sound of the suffering. 
You are the jury, we are the saints.

Our minds divide, the past repeats. 
A war still brewing in the hearts of those we once bled. 
I am the knowing, the living dead.”

☆THE END COMPLETE

The aftermath of the battle with Lesedi is a mixture of fortune. On one hand, a severe enough blow has been dealt to Lesedi that she has been forced to disappear almost entirely, and Gold has survived the conflict – on the other, Silver has disappeared too, and so have the rest of the Pride musicians.

While Virgo carries on to the end of the tour, Pride is almost entirely absent from the last two weeks of the schedule. Some of what remains of its bands will appear on stage, but something seems off about them – including the musicians that the rescuers know personally. Even when on stage, it’s like they’re not really there. As if something is puppeting them directly from behind the scenes.

Anansi appears only briefly during the final performances, and from what Gold will tell everyone, she has been Silver all along. The two of them had been working undercover for years to gain the power and influence they had, enough to begin fostering a rebellion in their seconds lives. So much of what made it possible to bring the rescuers together had been enabled by those connections, which was why it had been so crucial that no one know the source of their power or their knowledge.

Now Gold seems to be blaming herself for the fact that Silver hasn’t returned, suspecting that Blanche has done something to her as a result of her stepping in during the fight with Lesedi. Neither exec has left hiding since then, and its nauseating knowing that they could basically be anywhere.

There only seems to be one thing left to do, and that is beat the two of them to the proverbial finish line. Gold used her close connection with Lesedi to gather crucial information about where the finale of it all would be taking place, and the basic essence of what would be done – which was part of what had inspired her to attack Lesedi so desperately.

The end of the ritual is scheduled to take place on the moon.

☆THE MOON

It’s a good thing Shep has a spaceship.

The scattered remains of the world tour are spent in preparation. Though some may try to get close to the musicians that remain, it’s become nearly impossible – any attempt to get too close to met with those individuals being abruptly teleported away, no matter how disruptive it may be at the time. It’s not like it matters to the audience.

The enchantment of Tera’s populace is still holding, though there is something off and inconsistent about it. Most of the time, festival goers will refuse to acknowledge that anything besides a radical concert is going on, but then there are those in the crowd that will suddenly seem to peer through the fog. Something about the spell is broken, and it’s likely the series of disruptions to its execution that has done it.

The best option seems to be following the two of them to the finale, and ruining the ritual once and for all in its critical moments. The lost musicians have to be there, and it could be the rescuers only chance to retrieve them.

On the day of the rituals climax, Shep’s ship will carry everyone willing to fight towards Tera’s moon. The rescuers will catch glimpses of the Crescendolls ghosts more and more frequently as the moment arrives, though they seem to be avoiding Gold and Shep in the meantime.

Through a combination of magic and brute force, the rescuers will be able to make their way into the the label’s moon base – a structure paradoxically shared by both Pride and Virgo. It seems that this entire thing has been organized to end in a structured battle from the very start, like a final duel between r ivals that has been planned for centuries.

Everything is finally coming to a head. But how will this play out when one of the two is a mere shadow of their former selves?

☆PRIDE

For the musicians of Pride, the fight with Lesedi is the last thing you remember clearly. If you weren’t there at the time, then the moment when things changed is even more disorientating. You remember the feeling of Lesedi’s spacial pull against your body, and then everything became a long, confusing dream.

There is darkness and fire and stars, and then a feeling like you’re feeling split from something essential to your being. After that, nothing goes back to normal. You think you remember performing a few times, but it didn’t feel like you, even if the magic was still there. Life passes by weightlessly.

It’s a familiar feeling – like a hole has been left inside you. Despite all the progress you’ve made towards regaining who you are, it’s seems like there’s one final hurtle to overcome.

Despite everything, you’re still here.

☆VIRGO

For anyone left in Virgo’s ranks, things are much clearer but no less tense. The rest of the tour has been rushed, and the events have been minimal. The execs, however, have been in a very good mood. With Pride’s near total disappearance, it seems like Virgo’s victory in whatever battle this has been is guaranteed.

But yet, there is still a sense of ill ease. Whether you knew what she stood for or not, one of the most visible veterans, Anansi, has gone missing, and the rest of them seem nervous. The end is coming fast, and nobody seems to know what that means for them.

And then it finally becomes clear why, when the entirety of Virgo is rounded up and taken to the moon – not as performers, but as sacrifices.

“Dig deeper, remember 
All you've been and all you've left behind. 
Wave goodbye, my dear. 
Dig deeper, remember
All you've been and all you've left behind. 
Welcome home, my dear.”

Threaded | Flat

If you have any questions about how this final scenario is playing out, please ask!

Those with any sense for souls or magic will realize it as soon as they enter: all those spirits, all those crystals, all those partners and loved ones who have disappeared over the weeks, months, years – they’re here. They’re right here.

They have been used to build the stage of the nebulae’s final performance.

It’s a spectrum of colour that you can both see and feel. Thousands of crystals, of souls, line the walls and the floors, organized in meticulous arrangements of colours. The lights flicker and glow according to a kind of music that goes beyond the sense of sound, the souls played like an inhuman instrument for a much larger purpose.

Virgo’s side is prepared. The musicians, both new and old, have been brought to the Virgo stage and chained in places of seemingly ritual significance. Some of the veterans are yelling or pleading, apparently haven’t thought themselves above this, but Blanche regards them without attachment. The only one he pays any attention to is Juno, with whom he exchanges solemn and heartfelt words with in voices too low to hear.

And it’s with Juno, his closest companion in recent centuries, that it become obvious what Blanche’s intent is for the rest of them. She offers herself to him, and with uncharacteristic gentleness he consumes her soul.

Anansi, or Silver as the rescuers know her, is next in line. She doesn’t react to her surroundings, staring blankly downward, and as Blanche carefully lays Juno’s husk on the ground. But this is when Lesedi and what remains of Pride finally arrives.

Where Virgo arrived with careful dignity, the spectre of Lesedi appears in a crash of lightning, dragging her slaves with her. None of the musicians are chained, but it quickly becomes clear that they are every bit as bound as those in Virgo – Lesedi is a fiery cloud of space, but within her floats dozens of crystal shards. Soul shards, the likes of which the rescuers have seen before.

It’s like she’s tethering herself to their souls for balance, to keep herself in one piece. And now that she’s here, it’s clear that she has no subtle rituals in mind. Her screeching makes it all to clear that she is here to destroy Blanche, first and foremost, as she feeds off of her slaves who stand around her like brainwashed acolytes.

Except, this battle is split three ways.

The nebulae are never given the opportunity to duel in solitude, as they had planned for over all these years. Because the rebellion is here, and they won’t allow it. Not after all this.

And the Crescendolls are here too.

As the rescuers begin to struggle against the labels’ defenses or their brainwashed friends, the four spirits enact what they have been planning for all this time. They try to take control of the lingering musical energies too, and the imprisoned souls in the crystal react to their call.

In doing so, the ritual is brought into chaos. The power of gods is unbalanced and let loose, and reality itself twists and bends.

It’s like the dreams you’ve seen before, where the world is bent by your thoughts and feelings. Only this time it is real. This time, the real world is being bent to the whims of the minds of everyone present, and in this chaos it is all too possible to get lost.

But because of it, there is hope. If you can take control of it, you may be able to turn it against your captors. However, some of you may need more help than others.

[OOC: So this may be a little confusing, so bear with me! What has happened is that Lesedi, Blanche, and the Crescendolls are all trying to take control of the reality bending magic at the same time – the same magic that the nebulae had intended to use to ascend to godhood. This has resulted in reality becoming super malleable to the thoughts and feelings of everyone here. It’s like the dream world, except no one is dreaming. Everyone is awake, and what is happening here is functionally real, even if it’s all just created by everyone’s minds.

The objective is for the musicians and rescuers to help each other get control of themselves, in order to work together and turn this against the nebulae. The musicians that are still prisoners will definitely need help to mentally free themselves, and even some of the rescuers may struggle to stay in control depending on how unstable they are feeling due to everything that’s happened. People can help each other get in control even if they are both struggling, or people who are doing well can help people who are totally falling apart. You can pretty much describe whatever you want going on around your character as a manifestation of their inner trauma – but keep in mind, if you die here you will probably die in the real world too!

Memories can also be restored here – in full. The more memories musicians and former musicians regain, the easier it will be for them to take control. Pride musicians who pull themselves together will also be able to reclaim the soul shard Lesedi has stolen from them. That shard can represent whatever aspect of their personality that you want. If you have any more questions about how this works, please ask in the mod plurk or above in the questions section!

There will be a phase two where you get to turn this on Lesedi and Blanche, once and for all!]

At the bottom of a dark ocean lay a city, broken and crumbling but still alive with light, blending both modern and ancient aesthetics in a distorted and faded glory. At the heart of it all stood Jecht, arms folded and motionless on a platform that overlooked the ruins. The lack of air didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

So this was it. He was doomed to be a tool. Just trying to do the right thing, and where did he end up? Being used for power. Same as he'd done for Braska, except not by choice. Same as he'd done for Yu Yevon. All he wanted to do was live his life. Maybe see his kid again. It wasn't gonna happen, no matter what.

Everything'd gone very wrong. Guess that was the life a guy like him deserved.

As you find yourselves, the fluctuating reality begins to solidify, united in each individual’s desire for freedom. In the center of it all, you’ll find both nebulae locked in a vicious but meaningless combat, with Lesedi’s astral form torn and dissolving now that the soul crystals have been removed from her, and Blanche reluctantly staving off her tantrum.

None of this is like they planned it, and even if one of them were to win, there wouldn’t be enough energy to accomplish what they had intended to from the start. Ascension is out of their grasp.

Lesedi shrieks and rages at him, while Blanche argues with increasing uncertainty. Despite the inhuman and starry voids of their forms, Lesedi sounds like she’s on the verge of tears.

“This is you’re fault!” she screams. “If we had both been strong enough – I’ll kill you!”

“There is no point to this,” he insists. “It will only destroy us both. We can restart somewhere else-“

“No, you won’t.” Emerging from the darkness with the rest of you, Silver and Gold arrive together. Silver looks the same, except with patches of cyborg-like metal laced across her skin. Gold is shorter, with pointed ears. Between the two of them, they hold a spiral rainbow light that everyone will feel a great power behind - the disk of magical energy created during the very start of the ritual.

The reality of this place is still volatile, here. With the combined wills of those here, it feels possible that the two of them could be done away with entirely, if you wished it - and the power of Silver and Gold will seal the deal. But what you need is a consensus.

The world is yours. What will you do?

Threaded | Flat

☆QUESTIONS

☆PHASE ONE: OUR MINDS DIVIDE

Jecht | OTA

☆PHASE TWO: THE PAST REPEATS