:D

ok another part. i'm kind of not in a great place recently, and doing this honestly helps distract me, so it's nice to do it. i love this project, i love you guys, i love doing this so much! just know in direct interaction i might seem a lil bit dry :/

~~

STATE THE OBVIOUS ==>

Does your dad not see the monster? Is he stupid? He’s just sitting there, twiddling his thumbs…. Well, thumb, singular. But still! What the heck! There’s this massive pale humanoid… thing lurching over him! And he’s just standing around! 

YOU: Dad! There’s a monster in your room!

Terrance: Hm?

Antimony: TAKE COMBATIVE MEASURES FATHER!

Antimony throws her cane at your dad, and it bounces off of his head.

Terrance:...

Terrance: Ow?

The creature walks towards you. You and your compatriots shrink back in fear. Your mom, however, doesn’t budge an inch. She’s smiling calmly. It’s worse than you thought!

YOU: The creature appears to have brainwashed my parents! Enter defensive measures. 

Antimony: I threw my cane and now I cannot stand! :<

Wren: Lean on me, honey.

Antimony: Thank you.

Wren: When you’re not strong.

Antimony: :?

Wren: I’ll be your friend.

Ryan: Stop it.

Wren: I’ll help you carry on. 

You and your friends, and Ryan, prepare to attack the creature. And then… it… it waves at your mom.

Creature: hello. mrs. zhu.

Something about its mannerisms is vaguely familiar.

Creature: hello. children of adam.

Oh, huh. It’s the Old Voice. It’s that monster you fought a few times when you were sixteen. And it calls your mom “Mrs. Zhu.” Okay, awesome. Honestly, It's small potatoes in retrospect. Ryan clearly recognizes it as well. He seems to realize that this is the very creature that ruled a world he destroyed. His face is a pale white etching of shock and terror. He staggers nervously back to the door and runs off.

Wren: Ryan! You can- Oh, man. Okay.

Old Voice: is that. the apostate. the one who destroyed our home.

Wren: Well, yes, but he was sort of possessed at the time?

Antimony: Like, half-possessed. 

YOU: Maybe a third, to be fair. 

Wren: Yeah, like a third. It was just exacerbating desires he already had.

The Old Voice stands, completely unmoving. Its faceplates click in some imperceptible expression. 

Wren: Um don’t hurt him though

Old Voice: we will not. not until more pressing matters have been. dealt with.

Wren: You know what, good enough.

Your dad taps his desk, smiling. He waves.

Terrance: Hey, good to see you, kids. I need some good advice. The, uh, “Old Voice” has been helping me out here, ever since it barged into town hall, demanding to see the “Regent?”

His voice lowers to a whisper.

Terrance: (i’m the regent, not the mayor, so long as it’s in here, okay?)

You all nod.

Terrance: But all their advice kept recommending that I hurt people. So, um, we were hoping to get some advice from people who both understand this magic stuff and have souls. 

Antimony: I am not certain I have a soul!

Terrance: Your concern about that shows that you have, at the very least, the tools by which similar functions may be made!

Antimony: Awesome!

Terrance: Also, real talk, I’m very glad you all lived. Oh wow, is that pizza? 

Your mom sets the pizza down, and you all eat with starved ferocity, ensuring to save some for Alex and Ryan. Sam and Tracy already got food at the Seven Eleven. Must be nice to not be BROKE and reliant on your TALLER GIRLFRIEND. You barely have time to taste the food. 

Terrance: Okay! What should I do, you know? What should I expect?

Wren: Well, sir… You’ve made these shelters, which is good. Those monsters are out there, prowling the streets and trying to eat people… There are probably cultists out there too. Add that to the storm, we’re in trouble. Evacuation is probably the best idea. If Apophis breaks out of that dome, nobody wants to be here. 

Terrance: Okay… There’s the bridge, but… if it collapses…. 

YOU: A few people have boats around here, right?

Terrance: Yeah, but the waters are sort of dangerous right now. 

Danielle: Terry, are the waters more dangerous than we both know this island is going to be in a matter of days? Even hours?

Your dad nods.

Terrance: Fair enough, Dan. Yeah. We can get anyone with a boat to start getting people off the island. A fair amount of people left already, you know. It’s just… There are people here with nowhere to go, y’know? This place is all they have. 

Antimony: This place sucks, that is very sad!

Terrance: True enough. But look, I can take care of that stuff. You guys can focus on saving the world, you know. 

He gives you a thumbs up, and you return it, smiling. You’re glad your parents are here to take care of you. And your friends.

Wren: That means a lot to us. Thank you, sir. I suppose you’ll work with those Men-in-Black type guys?

Terrance: Uhh, yeah, I guess. Not especially forthcoming people, but they seem to be like just about every bureaucrat. You work around ‘em. And you, uh, still don’t have to call me sir, kid. You’re my daughter’s girlfriend, it’s weird, y’know. You’re part of the family. Call me…. I dunno. Terrance?

Danielle: You can keep calling me ma’am. 

Wren: Uh, that’s kind of weird because generally I call Diana and Antimony ma’am.

Danielle: … okay. Mrs. Zhu is fine.

The Old voice stands up with frightening speed. 

Old Voice: we leave now. we must avenge our home’s destruction.

It smashes out through the window, lurching quickly down the road. Okay. You’re probably going to run into It again, but as an… Ally? Maybe? You sure hope it doesn’t actually build a corpse fort, because that would be disgusting and horrible but you’d probably also find it a little cool. You cannot handle that sort of conflict!

Sam and Tracy enter the room. 

Sam: Hello, Mr. Zhu. Wassup, sir?

Terrance; We were just discussing plans for the immediate future.

Sam: Oh, tight, yeah, okay. Uh…

Tracy: Alex and her mom seemed like they were having a private discussion. So, uh, we came to see you.

Antimony: Well, it is always nice to see you! :3

Sam: Yeah… uh… we kinda wanted to ask you… Ryan ran outside? It looked like he was crying? His eye was glowing again. And… He was too far ahead to follow…

Wren: :| 

Tracy: Any idea why?

YOU: …seriously again okay

Hm. What to do next?

EXPLAIN THINGS NOW ==>

Okay, well, you can look for Ryan soon. He’s probably just needing to calm down, and you’re sure not gonna make Wren talk to him while he’s liable to lash out. She’s been through enough lately. When all this is over, you and Antimony are going to take her to eat at her favorite horrible restaurant, and then you’ll take her to see a movie in Stanwood, and everything will be normal and good. You’ll be normal, and you’ll do normal things. Hang out like normal girlfriends and not fight gods for a little while. 

Sam is muttering something rhythmically to himself. You realize he and Tracy probably have no idea what’s going on. Okay. Time to enlighten them. Sam is now eating the Pizza you saved for Alex. Stop it.

YOU: Stop it!

Wren: That’s for Alex, man.

Sam: Uh her mom brought her food. Also, I don’t think Pepperoni is kosher, so she can’t really… She keeps kosher, right?

Wren: Generally speaking, yes. It depends? On how hungry she is? It’s more like a… She tries to do it generally because it feels right. It’s more like, setting a rule for herself and then doing her best to abide by it.

Sam: Oh, like a diet. You cheat on it, but it’s more like… setting terms.

Tracy: That’s not how diets are really supposed to work, Sam. Have you been eating peanuts again? You’re… You are allergic, Sam. That isn’t even a diet, that’s you being stupid.

Sam: Pfft, I’m barely allergic, man. You’re not my parent.

Tracy: >:(

Sam: I mean anything you say boss

Tracy: >:)

Your dad stands up, gesturing to your mom.

Terrance: Come on, Dan. We gotta go start moving people before things get too bad. Bye, kids. 

You wave goodbye to your mom and dad, as they leave the room. Tracy turns to you with a vaguely curious look on their face. 

Tracy: So, what exactly are they doing? 

Antimony: Oh, they are evacuating the island! Under our recommendation. Um, hopefully you are okay with that, we kind of made it without your input? Sorry guys! 

Tracy: Oh, no, that makes sense. We are all good. :D

Antimony: Okay! 

Wren: They’re trying to get boats together, get as many people out as they can. We’re kind of scared that the bridge will collapse. That’s a scary idea, you know. Totally something Apophis would do.

Sam: Oh yeah, total Apophis move. 

YOU: Yeah. That is pretty Apophisy.

Wren: Oh, also we met the Old Voice. Which is that monster you never met! The starter boss guy. That’s why Ryan ran, because, you know, he blew up Its planet.

Sam: Huh yeah ok

Tracy: He’s probably having a breakdown right now. I feel bad for the poor guy. 

Diana: YEAH ME TOO I GUESS

Everyone stares at you. You were yelling. You’re yelling again. You’re trying to be nice, so maybe quit hollering and yelling, you total weirdo. Dial it back. Take a chill pill.

Wren: You okay, Deen?

YOU: Yes. I am being friendly and positive about Ryan because I believe Apophis is intentionally attempting to exacerbate tension between us. I am… stupidly jealous. The fact that he loves you is making me uncomfortable and upset, I suppose.

Antimony: Agreed.

Wren: Aww… you know I only even like girls to begin with, right?

Antimony: Yes. I am aware that my reaction is irrational, but it is motivated by my worst tendencies. Possessiveness. And, I suppose a continuation of negative feelings towards him I held for a long time.

Wren: Okay, man, rest assured, if I were even capable of liking Ryan, I wouldn’t. You two are my forever girls, y’know? And he’s… I care about him, but he’s a jerk, and a loser. You guys are my special people. If you were fishing for compliments, you just caught a big one, but I mean it.

YOU: Awww.

Wren: You genuinely have no reason to feel jealousy toward him. He is not… I would never have a relationship with him in any sense less strained than what we currently have. He’s… I feel bad for him, but I don’t… really… like him. I like you guys.

Sam: Look uh, really sweet and everything, but… Do we want to find Alex first, or look for Ryan?

Choose!

@azalea, haha, yes, thank you. that is not entirely the issue, but it sure didn't help y'know. everyone stay safe out there

~~ 

FIND RYAN==>

You decide that, hey, you trust Alex. She'll either find you or stay put. Ryan though.... He was unpredictable even before he became a crazy desert jerk. And, ABSOLUTELY NO HATE WHILE SAYING THIS, she really kind of... Lacks... Skill? When fighting, at least, she's not... Particularly reliable? Which, you remind yourself, she shouldn't have to be! She's a nineteen year old girl with anxiety! And fighting is scary.

(you remember Awakening, your body half submerged in black water underground, Crawlers circling you, realizing in that instant that nothing on earth mattered more than Living, Breathing Rich Air and SEEING as if for the first time, SEEING IT ALL.) 

So yeah, no hate, you will find her soon! 

YOU: I think our priority should be finding Ryan! He is likely running away as we speak!

Antimony: Agreed, yes. Wren, can you give me a piggy back ride?

Wren: Nothing would make me happier.

Antimony: Two hundred bucks.

Wren: Okay, exposed, yeah there are a few things that might make me happier.

Antimony: I knew it  >:3

Antimony leaps onto Wren's back, and Wren grabs her cane. Sam pulls his sword out, and so do you, and so does Tracy. You all have swords. You're so awesome. Swords are so awesome! You run down the hallway. Your mom and dad are out there, giving instructions through a bullhorn while those cool folks in suits direct the populace into black SUVs. Good thing that nebulous government agencies have never done anything bad to people, or you might be worried!

It's raining even harder outside now. The wind blows with a vicious intent, trees rocking back and forth. Ventilation faced creatures lurch around out there. You're pretty nervous. But your friends are all around you. You feel okay, with them there. Wren smiles at you gently, and you grin back, giving your patented cheesy thumbs up. 

You all run out into the rain. Geez louise, it is cold out here! You look around for Ryan, but you don't see anything. Suddenly Sam looks sharply to the left.

Sam: Oh burst of red light. Our surly little friend is using his rage magicks, yo.

Tracy: Well spotted, my love. I do hope he's alright. 

Wren: Yeah... Probably not. But, you know. We can hope? 

Antimony: You can talk him down, honey. I am certain of it!

Wren: Thank you, Annie.

Antimony: :3

You all run down the street, towards the red glow. The vent face creatures don't really do anything, which is interesting. You would think that they'd chase you. But no! They are not following! 

A green light streaks through the sky, and you watch a clone of Tracy smash through the window of some apartment. Okay. It's just raining clones now. Awesome. This is horrible!!! And... And cool okay you do have to admit that it is cool. The Tracy staggers to their feet, waving vaguely at you. Huh. You guess they're Awakened. Cool. They lived! 

You crest a hill, water flowing up to your ankles. A black SUV rolls past. The windows are tinted, but the back window is rolled down, and Will and Bill are back there, with Will's mom. They wave at you, and yell something indistinct. It's nice to see the two of them heading off together. 

Sam: Oh look, they're going to be fine, that's nice. At least SOMEBODY is gonna end up alright. I'M GONNA GO INSANE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Tracy: Deep breaths, Sam. We'll be okay, okay?

Sam: Yeah, thanks, Possum. Anyway, I was screaming before you interrupted me I think. Ahem. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- 

You and your friends keep running, turning down a narrow road, water flowing downward. The coolest thing about having Seer powers is that you don't fall down as often as you used to! You can tell when you're about to slip. And then you avoid that, usually! Usually! Don't slip. 

Wren: Oh geez, look at Ryan!

Ryan is twitching fiercely, clawing at his face. One eye is glowing yellow, and red energy is arching around him. His face looks almost skeletal, and he's glowing like hot metal. You're a little scared! He looks scary...

What should you do?

You could: 

>RUN  

>FIGHT

>STAND YOUR GROUND 

TRY TO TALK ==>

Your mind is racing with a thousand thoughts and fears. Ryan looks terrifying. His body is moving in ways that you cannot understand, moving inward and outward. His eyes are sunken into his head. His expression is incandescent rage. He… he sees you. Eep!

YOU: Uhhh hiii Ryan. Uh. It is nice to see you?

Wren: Okay, yeah, let’s ease into this. Good choice, Deen. Ryan, you seem to be panicking, and that’s… That’s okay! Take some deep breaths, okay?

Ryan looks at Wren with a terrifying, withering glare. She steps backwards, looking at you with a terrified expression. You feel a surge of protectiveness that voids the part of your brain that keeps you from doing stupid things. You step towards Ryan angrily.

YOU: Do not be a jerk to her, of all people! She cares about you, and she is trying to help you! Back off!

Sam: (uh, dude, i would try to not make him angrier, just personal taste you know)

Wren: Deen, it’s okay, okay? Antimony, put the cane down, don’t… don’t whack him.

Antimony: >:(

Ryan lurches forward, a spike growing out of his face. Weird… His eyes meet yours briefly. The yellow one is glowing horribly, shaking around, burning with bright, sickening energy. The other eye is looking back and forth, almost desperately. Another spike tears through his head, and he twitches, stepping forward, his red, glowing power flowing out of him. 

Ryan: You should run away.

Tracy: We’re not going to do that, Ryan. We’re here for you, okay? 

Ryan: What me? 

Sam: Pardon?

Ryan: WHAT ME?! WHICH ME?! The one that pretends to care about any of you? The one that loves Wren? The monster? The bully? The one that BLEW UP A PLANET?! 

He staggers forward, his head dropping down. Spikes are shooting out of his whole body now, and he twitches and shudders.

Ryan: None of those are me. None of those are real. Let me tell you guys a secret. I am searching every part of myself for something, anything real… and it turns out there’s nothing there. I’m nothing. I’m no one. You exist only through your perception of yourself. And I see… nothing.  But if there was anything I ever really was, anything that was ever real about me…

He looks up at you, and his face isn’t his face. It’s a red, glowing skull, covered in spikes. His jaw hangs open, and his left eye socket burns with yellow light. When he speaks, it’s in a screeching buzz. 

Ryan(?): IT WOULD BE THE MONSTER

Oh jeez. Things are getting real. You consider running, but Wren steps ahead of you. 

Wren: Ryan, you are not a monster. You’re a kid like any of us. A… a good kid, who was used by a monster to do terrible things. We… We love you, you idiot! Stop running from us! Stop trying to hurt the people who care about you!

Ryan: PEOPLE? PLURAL? INTERESTING. I DON’T THINK ANY ONE OF YOU CARES ABOUT ME, BEYOND YOU, WREN.

Sam: That’s a load of crap dude. We care about you. All of us care about you. 

Ryan: SERIOUSLY? YOU EXPECT ME TO BUY THAT? YOU CAN’T STAND ME. AND YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO. 

Tracy: We’re here to help. Seriously. 

Antimony: Even I care about you, Ryan!

Ryan: HAHAHA. PLEASE.

Antimony: It is true, you dummy! Wren just bends over backwards to make you happy! To make everyone happy! She has more empathy than is good for her. She loves you! Is that not good enough for you, you selfish jerk? You have not been fair to her, or to any of us! Calm down, let us talk about this.

Ryan: … NO. 

He shakes his head, the yellow eye glowing.

Ryan: HOW DO YOU THINK THIS ENDS? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? I HAVE. WHAT, EVERYTHING JUST GOES BACK TO NORMAL? NO. I BLEW UP A PLANET. WOULD I GO TO PRISON? WOULD YOU FIGHT ME? WOULD I SLIDE BACK INTO MY WAYS? WHAT ABOUT THAT MONSTER? I DESTROYED ITS HOME! WOULD IT TRY TO KILL ME? WHO WOULD YOU SIDE WITH? 

You stop in your tracks. You hadn’t actually thought about that. He hangs his head, and speaks in… almost his regular voice.

Ryan: No. We might as well get it out of the way, right? Fight me! Come on! DO IT!

He lunges at Wren, fury evident, even with his lack of a face.

YOU: WREN!

What do you do?

>ATTACK

>DEFEND

>GRAB N RUN

your wish is my command hahaha get it no but seriously im beggin 

DEFEND==>

Ryan is lunging at Wren, and you are terrified, but primarily angry. Your Seer vision sees him slamming into her, breaking ribs, tearing into her with the power of a rain of shrapnel. But that isn’t going to happen, because you’re here. You leap in front of Wren, shoving her back. She screams your name, grabbing you and yanking you to the ground. The two of you roll down the road.

You look up the hill at Skele-Ryan. His fist is trapped in the road, stuck due to its spikes. He’s grinding it around in the road, shrieking in rage. Antimony is limping rapidly toward Ryan. She raises her cane and whacks him upside the head. 

Antimony: Take that! And that! And… Wow, cliche bonanza. 

Sam: Just… Just let it happen. Cliches are awesome. 

Ryan: HHHHRRRGGHHGGHGHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGHGHGH

Ryan is seething and raging, as he manages to tear his hand out of the road. His jaw drops open, red light exploding out of his skull. Everything shakes. Your atoms are bumping into each other. You fall to your knees, and Antimony and Sam, the two closest to him, are sent flying. 

Antimony: Owie… Road rash >:(

Wren runs over to Ryan. You can hear her now. “Please, I know you’re in there, this isn’t you…”

Wren: Ryan, please, I know you’re in there, this isn’t you!

Ryan: Hahaha… You're wrong. You are WRONG. THERE IS NOTHING IN ME. NOT ANYMORE. YOU-

Wren: I can’t fight you. I can’t fight you, you’re my friend, Ryan! 

Ryan: I’M…

His voice softens, somehow. 

Ryan: I’m not, Wren. I’m not your friend. I’m not… Good. And you can’t get me to stop, you can’t. Look. Look, Wren. Everything works the way it does because of narrative. You haven’t Awakened, you don’t understand! There’s this narrative. It… It influences everything! Maybe I was Ryan once, but I don’t remember!

He throws his head back, whimpering in terror. The buzz in his voice returns.

Ryan: I’m NOT Ryan! I’m A monster, Wren! There’s nothing left! I DON’T EVEN FEEL BAD ANYMORE! I JUST REMEMBER BEING SOMEONE WHO WOULD HAVE FELT BAD. I AM THAT MONSTER, WREN. THE APOSTATE. THAT IS ALL I AM.

You turn to Wren, clutching her hand. Her face isn’t sad, or angry, or anything you have words for. Something alien moving under her skin. Her eyes are a piercing color. Violet? 

Wren: Ryan,I-

Ryan: i don’t even love you anymore. apophis took that too. hahaha… no. no… 

His jaw unhinges again, screaming and fuming.

Ryan: NO! NONONONONONO….

He lurches forward again, his arm slamming into Sam, who’s been trying to sneak up on him. He sends Sam flying, and he falls to the ground, dropping his sword. Ran stomps on the blade, melting the metal. Tracy crawls to him, healing him. 

Sam: Ughhhh thanks man

Tracy: Support class, Sammy. You’ll be alright.

Sam clambers to his feet, grabbing the handle of the broken sword. He smiles nervously.

Sam: Still sharp. Heh. A broken sword’ll still do the job, huh? Heheh. Almost profound.

Tracy; What does that mean?

Sam shrugs.

Sam: Eh. I said almost. I dunno.

Antimony starts floating, her eye’s glowing green. She blasts Ryan, and he staggers to the side.

Wren turns to you. Her face is alien, cold, emotionless. Beautiful. She’s gorgeous, which is a weird thought to have now, huh. Her eyes are glittering coldly. Is she.. Awakening? Maybe? She looks at you, and her eyes soften. 

Wren: We… We have to fight him, don’t we?

YOU: I think so, honey. I am sorry. 

Wren: It’s okay, Deen. Let’s just knock him out, okay? 

YOU: Okay. I love you, I am sorry that this is happening.

Wren: Not your fault, Deen. Thanks, though. 

She takes a breath. You look at her, and see the change completing itself. Her eyes harden with a new strength, her expression becoming blank and deep in thought. 

Wren: It’ll be okay. For all of us. I’ll make sure. 

Wren is now the AWAKENED SCRIBE. 

What will you do now?