[they don't even get to counter that before there's a memory.
they also don't get to say anything because there's a memory, and it's horrifying and sickening and they don't have a mouth but there's a sound like a startled yelp once it's over.
they don't speak for a moment, if only because it's a lot to comprehend. they understand the concept of stands, hot pants has said that before, and they know about her own ability with her flesh spray, but...
whatever that was....was too powerful.
so yeah. they turn to stare at her with incredibly wide eyes, trying to find words.]
...but how...? ["How are you here? How did that corpse use its powers? How did your own power stop working? HOW CAN YOU BE OKAY AFTER THAT?"]
[The other memories, she can more or less tolerate, even the one reliving her past. The abrupt chaos of this one, however, in all its horror, is enough to make her lose herself a little - but she's brought back by the other's words.]
That's... [She lets out a shuddering sigh.] That's not...something to come back from.
[they don't quite say "you're really gone", but the intention is there. the bubble itself still lingers, but they aren't quite paying attention to that right now.]
Of course you do. [they say this, like, immediately, even without knowing the circumstances.] I mean...most people don't come back, but most people aren't from places with abilities like you are. There has to be a way for another chance.
[they look very unimpressed with the president. and moreso about what just happened here.]
I mean I guess...
[they still don't really know if they agree, considering, but...]
...I get it though. Those things that are greater are for the good of everyone and not just a few people. But it doesn't make the sacrifices easier either. That's all.
[i promise i will give you a mem in return crystal but we're letting hp have her moment here.]
...No, it doesn't. And even though I was ready...it still hurt.
[That's what settles in her - that she failed. That Diego failed. And now, she doesn't know what happened afterwards. Whether the President succeeded. Whether he failed.]
I don't know. Just thinking about it...it didn't amount to much. It didn't stop him.
I don't think there's any amount of preparing that can make you really ready for something like that. But...maybe someone else will find a way.
[they don't seem to notice, but a bit of blue seeps from their fingers and fuses into the bubble. unfortunate.
[you're alone.
the city around you has been engulfed in flames, smoke and destruction. the last of your friends has faded right from your finger tips, her hand reaching out for yours. you can't hold onto her. you can't save her.
you weren't able to save any of them. all of them...gone.
you thought you could do it this time. you thought you could stop the erasure of the place you loved, the people you loved, if only you turned back the clock one more time.
but it didn't work.
behind you, you hear footsteps approaching. a man approaches you, laughing to himself.
"Well, well. And then there was one."
you turn quickly to face him, but there isn't enough time to get away. he looks at you, holding up his fingers with a quick snap, and you feel the source of your power shatter in your pocket.
"Shit..." you say quietly, hand shaking as you hold the pieces of your hope in your palm.
"Oh, you won't be needin' that anymore," the man cackles again, leering down at you. it's just the two of you now, the city ravaged, your friends destroyed.
"The Game's over, kid. And now, so's S̷̡̞̹̬̥͉̪̳͍̜̰̲̜͗̆̕͜͝h̷̨̙̲͊ỉ̸̢̡͖̮͕̣͕͌͑́̚b̶̨͔̺͕̱͎͇͔͈̎̓̏̕ų̶̨̻͚͓̜̫̰͖̲͇̊̃͑̆̅̍͗̏̆̕͠y̵̧͓̩̱̰͕̍̔ą̶̬̘̞̗̫͆͛!"
he holds his arms high to the sky, a tyrant praising his own evildoings. thousands of creatures swirl around you, and you know this is your fault. this was your own doing, something you had a hand in creating.
it's the end. there's nothing you can do.
a beam of white light suddenly appears in the sky, rocketing down to strike the man. the blast sends you flying, tumbling backwards into the rubble as you watch the light tear him apart and purify him. as your vision clears...
...you find yourself perfectly unharmed.
"...what was that?" you ask yourself, and with a start you notice so many people around you. you're standing in the center of several white crosswalks, people going about their business and hardly paying attention to you as you frantically look around. you can't figure out what happened. you stand there, trying to remember, but you're jostled from your thoughts as a man bumps into you. it's a feeling you haven't felt in so long that it startles you. you quickly reach into your pocket for your phone, checking for your messages.
your mother's worried about you. she wants to know what time you're coming home.
"No way..." you whisper to yourself. it becomes clear to you then. you've finally made it home. you're back where you belong, but... "W-wait...hold on a sec..." you look around again, and soon the uneasy, anxious feeling grips your chest. oh no. oh no, oh no, oh no.
time passes. it's another day, and you're still trying to understand everything that's happened to you. your thoughts are so much louder than the city around you. it's nearly impossible to escape.
'...I'm the only one who made it home. My chat app's back to the way it was before the Game started. Except for the fact that F̴͍̭̦͕͒̾̌́r̸̟̟̽̈́̊͝ȅ̴̠̣̉̚͜͝t̷̮͗́̏ isn't in it. Nobody from school remembers him, and he's missing from my contacts. Same with N̵̺̻̿̔͝ͅa̸̞̜̘̳͋͒͒ģ̴̪̃̋̾ȉ̵̧̺̼͔̑͑ and B̸͉͆͊̑e̸̹͎̟̘̅͐̾̂͑a̷̬͕̖̅̏̌̎̿t̴͔̜͈͉̦̔̂, and N̶̥̓e̴͈͔͌̉́̋̚k̵̛̭͙̿̇̔ư̴͍̣̫̬̦̎̍--everyone. S̷̹̲̣̀̽̓h̵̼͈̦͐͊͊̒͘ǒ̵̼̩̲̟̓k̴̼̥̀ȃ̵̺̳̔̎͝͠, too. Even her alt's gone--like it never existed.'
you feel it more strongly than ever. that guilt. that grief. those nasty little feelings you never wanted to feel, that you thought you could escape if you could fix everything.
'There's thousands of people around me, and yet I'm all alone. I thought that, if i went back in time, I could save the city. And technically I did. Just not the way I wanted to...'
you feel your throat begin to close the longer your thoughts haunt you. your vision begins to blur, and you know you shouldn't cry in public but...who cares anymore? does it even matter? no one else will notice.
you sink to the ground, sitting in the middle with your back against a stone pedestal for a statue of a figure that waits. thousands of people go about their daily lives, unaware of the danger they had once been in, and paying no attention to you at all. the first of your tears drip onto your hands without permission.
'Was everything I did all for nothing?'
life goes on. life in this bustling, colorful city proceeds without a care in the world. but you're the only one left to notice it.
[What was...that? That city. That beam of light. And then waking up in a world where everything is right, but it...isn't. Memory falls like sand through a sieve.]
[The only one left. Alone. Alone. Alone.]
[She shudders, closing her eyes, before looking over at Riff, her tone as level as she can possibly make it.]
[they seem to be staring blankly ahead. this isn't exactly the first time they've seen this memory, or at least seen it in a different way, but it doesn't get any easier.
nothing about remembering you're completely alone and that it's probably your fault makes it easier.
they're quiet, at least, until hot pants speaks up. even then they don't reply immediately before they shake their head.]
...you asked me before about choosing between the others and this place. I always knew I wanted to stay with them, but...I guess maybe this was why.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Also slaps down memshare whatchu want and/or want to avoid]
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Even if trying is something hard? [this is said a little dryly.]
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[And the bubble pops over them, suddenly - Hot Pants lets out a low noise, reaching out to splash color at it, instinctively.]
Really?
[And the memory (pages 27-40) that comes is...horrific, to say the least.]
[Hot Pants is shaking as its over, teeth gritted.]
[It's not every day where you relive your own death, after all.]
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they also don't get to say anything because there's a memory, and it's horrifying and sickening and they don't have a mouth but there's a sound like a startled yelp once it's over.
they don't speak for a moment, if only because it's a lot to comprehend. they understand the concept of stands, hot pants has said that before, and they know about her own ability with her flesh spray, but...
whatever that was....was too powerful.
so yeah. they turn to stare at her with incredibly wide eyes, trying to find words.]
...but how...? ["How are you here? How did that corpse use its powers? How did your own power stop working? HOW CAN YOU BE OKAY AFTER THAT?"]
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[The other memories, she can more or less tolerate, even the one reliving her past. The abrupt chaos of this one, however, in all its horror, is enough to make her lose herself a little - but she's brought back by the other's words.]
That's... [She lets out a shuddering sigh.] That's not...something to come back from.
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So...you're really...
[they don't quite say "you're really gone", but the intention is there. the bubble itself still lingers, but they aren't quite paying attention to that right now.]
No way.
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[Her gaze lowers to the ground. Just a week ago, they were scrubbing headstones, weren't they?]
[A dead person cleaning up a place of the dead.]
Maybe I have a second chance. I don't know.
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[...but...]
Is that what you want though?
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[She looks at them, her face like stone.]
Why wouldn't I want it, Riff?
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I don't know. But I don't want to make assumptions or choices for anybody else.
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[She just closes her eyes for a long moment.]
That man you saw...I have to stop him at all costs. If I have a chance to go back and do it...I'll take it. I will.
I was prepared to sacrifice my life, anyways.
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Just because you're prepared to do that doesn't mean you should. Especially if you don't really get a say in it in the first place.
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[did u like his spiral hair]
[She grimaes.]
Sometimes there are things greater than you. My life is nothing in comparison.
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I mean I guess...
[they still don't really know if they agree, considering, but...]
...I get it though. Those things that are greater are for the good of everyone and not just a few people. But it doesn't make the sacrifices easier either. That's all.
[i promise i will give you a mem in return crystal but we're letting hp have her moment here.]
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...No, it doesn't. And even though I was ready...it still hurt.
[That's what settles in her - that she failed. That Diego failed. And now, she doesn't know what happened afterwards. Whether the President succeeded. Whether he failed.]
I don't know. Just thinking about it...it didn't amount to much. It didn't stop him.
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I don't think there's any amount of preparing that can make you really ready for something like that. But...maybe someone else will find a way.
[they don't seem to notice, but a bit of blue seeps from their fingers and fuses into the bubble. unfortunate.
all that's left is a memory.]
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[What was...that? That city. That beam of light. And then waking up in a world where everything is right, but it...isn't. Memory falls like sand through a sieve.]
[The only one left. Alone. Alone. Alone.]
[She shudders, closing her eyes, before looking over at Riff, her tone as level as she can possibly make it.]
Hey. Riff. You're...here. Not there. You're here.
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nothing about remembering you're completely alone and that it's probably your fault makes it easier.
they're quiet, at least, until hot pants speaks up. even then they don't reply immediately before they shake their head.]
...you asked me before about choosing between the others and this place. I always knew I wanted to stay with them, but...I guess maybe this was why.
[a subconscious memory, maybe.]
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[To be close to the ones you love, above all else...she knows how important that is.]
You care a lot, I know.
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I don't think they know it because I'm not sure how to really say it? We're friends, but I don't...[hmph.] Whatever.
I don't want anything to happen to them. Or anybody else here. But I don't know how to help anymore.