[Game 18] The Waking World

[arsgoetia]

After successfully talking Zan into waking up—the world around you starts to dissolve and break apart. There's a lurch, like the sensation of abruptly falling into sleep, but backwards; and all around you, the glass begins to crack apart, splintering and sending ocean water splashing everywhere, gushing forward, a cascade of blue and black, alternating between starfish and actual stars, suspended in liquid sky.

. . . reality seems to bleed in overtop of it and, sluggishly, you find yourselves waking up all over a suburban basement in New Jersey. There is a lamp on near the bed, where someone is still asleep, though fitfully beginning to wake up.

More noticeably, there is a woman sitting up in bed with him, arms wrapped around her bare knees as she watches them with amusement, extremely beautiful and . . . extremely familiar.

"Wow." One hand drops to Zan's hair. "I don't even know where to start with you guys."

Comments

[arsgoetia]

Una doesn't lose her vice grip on Yuki's arm—Yuki might find it extremely hard to move.

"Stand down," she commands, turning her gaze to Verity. The compulsion is not absolute, but it is . . . terror-inducing, to say the least.

[psychopompous]

—!?

[liarliarliar]

...should she be able to do that?

[psychopompous]

[SHAKES HIS HEAD]

[liarliarliar]

What's the source of her power? Can you tell now?

[rollwillpowercheck]

[was scrambling to his feet in a hurry with all the sudden activity, and now is just ?!?!]

What-- what's she even--

[psychopompous]

Ah . . .

[rollwillpowercheck]

I'm suddenly thinking of a number of possibilities here and none of them are good so if you could fill us in--

[adropintheocean]

Ummmmmmmm what.

[psychopompous]

But . . . how?

[adropintheocean]

We're in trouble, aren't we.

[gavehimhead]

Can you explain? This is becoming cumbersome.

[savethedatasaveyourworld]

[okay. but I've faced down a giant sadistic mass-murdering robot who was threatening to rip me apart violently and had actually done so to hundreds of other giant robots.

including my friends.

so the reply is tense, but:]

Not. Going. To happen.

[and she yanks.]

[arsgoetia]

Una lightly pushes Verity back. It's a little flick of one hand, but the result is equal to tossing her halfway across the room.

[savethedatasaveyourworld]

[also not unfamiliar.

but what if climbing shakily to her feet and charging back at Una.]

[rootless]

[oh are we playing that game

Tree snarls, grabbing for her wrist with enough force to make the bones creak

you know how in bleach when power levels are strong enough that the weaker one is petrified? he can do that too. unless she outclasses forest spirit in which case he tried.]

Let go.

[arsgoetia]

She lightly draws her hand out of his grip—he can hardly make out how, she just makes it seem easy, like slipping fingers out of a glove. And just looks at him.

[rootless]

[holy shit]

[telepathetically]

[STRUGGLES, trying to shake her off if even for a second]

I knew it!

[arsgoetia]

Una places a hand on his head. "It's alright."

[telepathetically]

[fuck]

[loveinvein]

[ Okay but Mika doesn't know about Yuki's power and he can definitely shake Yuki off right now. So NOW he'll do that and BOLTS out of the room and hopefully out of the house. He knows bad news when he sees it! ]

[star_and_stone]

*following him out, ready to distract if need be*

[psychopompous]

[Una doesn't move, but Sariel follows quickly]

[the_straight_man]

[raises both hands]

Hey. Can the human be our priority here, please?