SEARCH FOR A WEAPON==>

You scan your surroundings for something that would be useful in combat. You end up coming up almost completely blank. You have your backpack, and you guess you could swing it into The Janitor, but... Beyond that...

A memory blithely surfaces in your mind: you remember telling Diana, shortly before another altercation, that your fists were deadly weapons. Would that that were true. You do work out fairly often, but that isn't going to do you much good against an actual monster. 

You sidle toward The Janitor. You slowly loose your backpack into your hands. You decise that, at the very least, you can get Diana and your friends a good head start. 

YOU: Run. 

Alex: What?

YOU: RUN.

You hold your bag in front of you, and using it as a shield, slam it into The Janitor, full force. He lets out a wild scream, seemingly out of shock more than anything else. He tumbles backward, falling onto the ground. You look up and see Alex and Tracy speeding down a long hallway, Tracy carrying Sam with surprising ease. Diana Is standing in front of you.

YOU: Deen, RUN. I said RUN. 

Diana: Wren, I would not leave you alone. I told you, we look out for one another. Come on.

She holds out her hand.

You take it. 

Of course you take it.

The two of you barrel down the hallway, hand sweating. You're running, you're running, and you can feel him behind you. Right behind you. But you can't turn to look at him.  He's making loud noises, and it is, of course, terrifying. 

You manage to catch up with Tracy, Sam, and Alex. Sam's arm looks bad. It looks really bad. He seems to be shouldering admirably, despite the broken bone, and being carried by someone half his height.

Alex: There's absolutely no way we can beat this guy.

YOU: Hence the running.

The red light illuminating the walls intensifies, and the hallways around you split and cascade in shapes the human eye cannot trace, tearing into one another with animal rage. The hallways no longer represent the hallways of your school. They are smooth, glossy tunnels. The Janitor is getting closer. You can feel a sort of cold malice intensifying as it approaches. Diana takes off her backpack, and hurls it toward the thing. You hear a slamming sound, and it seems to have slowed down the monster, at least a little. 

The tunnel ends ahead of you, in a black square.

You know where that leads. 

THere's no other way to go. The group, excepting Tracy, all know where that goes. But between certain death, and uncertain death, it isn't a hard choice. 

You cross through the black square.

On the other side, you find the familiar thin walkway and boundless void that has come to define your experiences crossing between worlds. But above you, things have... changed. Apophis is still there, with His deep, roiling hatred passing over you. But above you are... Clones of your girlfriend. With jetpacks. Some have odd green auras around them, and are hurling flames at Him. He's using long black pure void-tendrils to knock them out of the sky. They're falling all around you.

One Diana clone is falling near you. Her eyes are glowing bright green. You instinctively reach out to grab her. 

Diana-Clone: Wren! And... Me!

You pull her up onto the walkway. Her body is scarred, and she's wearing a white robe of some sort. She cant seem to stand and Diana reaches down and lifts her up. 

YOU: Look,this is... bizarre. But we can figure this out later. We're in a bit of trouble.

The Janitor-thing bursts in from behind you. He's laughing like a child.

Janitor: IDIOTS! IDIOTS! IDIOTS! THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR RUNNING RIGHT INTO THE HOME OF MY MASTER!

The Janitor laughs again, raising his extended arms to the air above him. He begins to talk in a more quiet tone, almost like a hushed prayer.

Janitor: Apophis. Look upon your servant and hear his cry. Your enemies have been brought into your home, presented before you. Hear me! Hear me! I am humbled before you, great Lord of Destruction. You are Tohu wa-Bohu. Tiamat, Khaos, YMIR. The Last God. You are infinitely-

He stops speaking. He begins to scream.  He slowly crumples to his knees, and brings a long-fingered hand to his stomach. He crumples inward, and burns like a sheet of paper.

You look up, and see the eye of Apophis looking down on you.

THERE IS NOTHING I HATE MORE THAN A BOOT-LICKER.

A deranged cascade of laughter washes over you.

What do you do? 

i'll have a part out tomorrow. it's about half done, but it's been a long day. 

GRAB DIANA AND RUN==>

Run. Evey single part of you is screaming out for you to run, including your mouth. The others hear you screaming and bolt down the walkway in a fit of utter panic. You want to grab Diana and Run, but then you realize there are two Dianas. The scarred clone-one looks up at you sheepishly from her spot lying on the ground.

Diana-clone: Wren, I am sorry, I cannot feel my legs. I think I may be paralyzed, at least partially.

YOU: It's okay. Diana, help me lift her.

She does, and you manage to hold Diana-clone up by the waist, over your shoulder. You grab Diana's hand, and you run.

Burning bodies of other Dianas fall all around you like embers. Alex disappears into the white square ahead of you, and Tracy and Sam seem to have already passed through it. Apophis is still laughing from somewhere behind you, but you don't care. You care about ensuring that you survive, and that your girlfriend, and your... girlfriend. :|

You run through the white circle, and find yourself in a small, dark space. You set Antimony down, and look at your surroundings. You're in a relatively small, circular room, with lit up screens lining the walls. After a bit of thought, you realize where you are: the roo you had first met The Oracle in. You breathe out a sigh of relief that, at least, you've ended up back home.

YOU: Okay guys, we're all here? 

Alex: I'm here. You should probably call roll.

YOU: Yeah, okay. Uh, Tracy?

Tracy: Here.

YOU: Sam?

Sam: Aaaauuuuuugghhhhh ooooooowwwwwwww gah.

YOU: Noted. We should probably get you to a hospital soon. Diana?

Diana: Here.

Antimony: Here- crap, I will try to get used to that.

YOU: Honestly, this whole clone thing is just, really freaking me out. I'm really sorry for that reaction, Antimony. But I'm kind of...weirded out.

Alex: Yeah, uh, seconded. You're like, a clone of Diana? Why are your eyes glowing?

Antimony: I am essentially Diana, yes. I have all her memories up to a certain point. The point in which I woke up in a test tube, was launched out into a void at a giant eyeball, watched countless versions of myself die, gained magic powers from being traumatized... uh, hence the glowing eyes, and lost my ability to move my legs. And now I am here.

Alex: Geez, yeah, that all sucks. Sorry, man. 

Antimony: Also, I... I do not know how things are going to work out with Wren.

She turns to you, but she doesn't look directly at you.

Antimony: I mean, I was... She... I guess she is dating Diana, not me. I am, not really, uh...

YOU: Look. Antimony, we can work this out later, okay? But it should probably be between the three of us. 

Tracy stands up and stretches. They've set down Sam, and he's managed to stand up. 

Tracy: You know, I've never felt closer to any group of people before. 

Alex laughs.

Alex: That's what happens when you face deeply horrific events side-by-side. Call it bonding or codependency. Whichever you like. 

Tracy nods, and walks over to look at the monitors surrounding you.

Tracy: Security cameras.

Alex: They're our grandpa's. Dunno why he has them. Or what he's up to.

YOU: He's been missing for a while.

Tracy: Oh, I'm sorry.

YOU: Ha. Don't be. 

Tracy: Do you not have a good relationship with him?

YOU: I don't have a relationship with him at all. 

You look at the sealed metal door in front of you. There's a panel beside it, with flashing numeric buttons.

Crap. What was that code?

INPUT CODE:_____ 

INPUT CODE: 6202 ==>

You somehow manage to remember the code to the door. You input it, and it slides open easily. You walk out, carrying Anitmony, and the others follow.

YOU: Okay. We have a few potential priorities right now. Sam's arm is broken.

Sam: uuuhhhhuhghghguhguhguhhguhguhhugggh

YOU: Yep. Then there's Antimony, who appears paralyzed from the waste down.... Not certain how we're going to get her helped without anyone questioning why there are now two Dianas.

Diana: I could paralyze myself from the waist down, and then we would be virtually indistinguishable. 

YOU:...

Diana: Joke.

YOU: Ah. Well, the final priority is... guys, we didn't recruit Ryan, and we aren't in school.

Theres a collective realization that then passes through your compatriots. Eventually, Alex speaks up.

Alex: Guys... This was the equivalent of a sidequest, like, in video game terms. I mean, this isn't a video game, obviously. This is like, our lives, but... Everything we just did was to accomplish, like, what exactly? Like, we gained nothing. (except, uh, the Diana clone. good to have you, Antimony.)

Antimony: :]

Alex: But, you get what I'm saying, right? Like, that was a complete bust. That guy thrashed us. We barely survived. We're supposed to be able to kill a God. This sucks.

Tracy:... It does indeed suck. And we have to talk to Ryan soon, which will undoubtedly suck even more.

Alex: Yeah, you guys seem to really hate that guy. Any reason? 

Diana: He was a huge jerk to Wren, when she transitioned and everything.  

YOU: Yeah. It turned out he was like, failing miserably at negging me into liking him. And when I explained that healthy relationships are built on, like, trust and feelings and etcetera, and not, y'know, shoolyard antics he... Did not take it well.

Alex: Oh, he sounds kind of awful.

YOU: Yeah.... Yeah.

Alex pauses, considering.

Alex: Well, look, I was thinking. Um. Antimony is a clone of Diana. Technically, she counts as one of the six prophesied heroes, right?

Diana:...I do not... Know? Maybe?

Alex: Possibly we could, like, forgo actually having to interact with him at all?

Do you think Antimony counts as one of the six? 

PROBABLY NOT==>

YOU: Um... I don't think so, no. That's a nice thought, but aren't there, like, specific roles for each of us to fulfill? 

Antimony: Oh, that is right. I am a seer.

Diana: And so am I.

YOU: Yeah. We need Ryan. Awful as that may be. 

Tracy: Yes, but first, we should probably focus on getting Sam to a hospital. 

Sam: Aughaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagghhhhh

YOU: Good idea.

The six of you head down the green lit tunnel. It feels somehow longer than you remember. Diana awkwardly sidles up to you. 

Diana: Wren?

YOU: Yeah?

Diana: I have been thinking about the whole Antimony thing.

Antimony: Me too. Seeing as I... am the whole Antimony thing.

YOU: This feels like a personal conver-

Diana: Look, Antimony is essentially me, the same way that version of you we buried was essentially you.  Which is to say... I think, if I had met both that weird dream-version of you, and you at the same time, I would feel the same way about both of you.

YOU: ...

Diana: Look, the point is, if you wanted to, I would have no problem at all with you dating Antimony as well. 

YOU: Look, yes, we need to talk this over, but just, not here. They can hear us.

Alex coughs. 

You walk up the stairs, and are immediately confronted with your grandfather.

YOU: Hits keep coming. Great.

What do you do? 

DANCE AWAY ==>

That sounds... vaguely uncharacteristic. But maybe it will be off-putting enough that he won't register your prescence fully.

You start dancing clumsily, spinning and weaving alongside Diana.

Grandpa: What are you doing? 

YOU: Um... Dancing?

Grandpa: Stop it. 

YOU: Yessir. 

Grandpa: What were the six of you doing in the tunnels anyway. Wait...

He turn his head to the side, and stares at your party, squinting slightly. A thin smile spreads across his face.

Grandpa: The Six of you. Huh. Guess my calculations were a little off.

Tracy: What do you mean?

He looks at you and Antimony. 

Grandpa: And look at that. A clone. Hm. It looks pretty beat up.

Alex: She.

Your Grandpa gestures vaguely, and paces over to Sam and Tracy.

Grandpa: And look at that. The Aberdeen boy. What happened to you?

Tracy: He broke his arm. We're getting him to the hospital.

Grandpa: Nonsense. A few broken bones are good for a growing boy. If your destination is what I think it is, you could certainly use the practice.

Tracy: What are you talking about?

Grandpa: It's THe Oracle's job to provide exposition, not me. I already tried training my own Six. I failed.

Any questions for Gramps? 

ASK FOR ELABORATION==>

YOU: Who? What happened to them?

Grandpa: Hmm. 

He points at Alex

Grandpa: Your mother.

He points at Diana.

Grandpa: Both of your parents too.

He looks at you.

Grandpa: Your parents too. And your aunts.

YOU: I have other aunts? 

Grandpa: Mm. Had.  

You nod, staring blankly.

Grandpa: I consulted ancient prophecies and books, and I thought I had the date right. I was about twenty years early. The Oracle told me all of this. And, well, not all of them survived their... doomed mission. It was unfortunate, obviously.

YOU: Un... Unfortunate? The death of my parents was... It was unfortunate.

You're brimming with fury. You are overflowing. 

Grandpa: Yes. I lost three daughters. And you... You never knew your parents. I did.  

You guess that's true. Everyone has their own way of coping. For a second, the old man almost seems human. Then he speaks, and shatters that illusion.

Grandpa: I don't know. You're probably all going to die too. No skin off my teeth. 

He shrugs, and starts to turn away.

Alex: You're the actual worst. Are you trying to do a reluctant mentor thing? Because it isn't working. We genuinely want nothing to do with you.

He turns back around and smiles his grotesque parody of a smile.

Grandpa: That's the Oracle's job. I'm no mentor. I wasn't any good for your parents, and I wouldn't be any good for you. I'm just a tired old man.

Antimony quietly speaks up.

Antimony: You used to scare me, you know.

Grandpa: Oh?

Antimony: They shot me at a God, and now I am paralyzed. You do not scare me any more. You are right. You are just a tired old man. And you have been nothing but awful to Wren. And you do not even have an excuse to give.

The old man hesitates, and then nods.

Grandpa: Probably true.

He turns to leave 

What do you do?