FIGHT==>

You look around at your friends, and Ryan. Sam is ready to pounce, broken sword in hand, and Tracy is gazing forward, a little nervously. Antimony has limped over to Wren, and is resting a hand on her shoulder. Wren is….

Again, Wren is beautiful. Her skin is paler than normal, her eyes are burning with inhuman light. Her face is an alien mask of emotion. There’s a decided glint in her eye, that deep mania that happened when you awakened too. It’ll pass. It’s just the whiplash, of being human, and then being something slightly more. 

Wren: Hey.

YOU: Yes, honey?

Wren: I can see it… I….

She steps forward to Ryan. He looks at her, expression unreadable, no expression to speak of, really. 

Wren: You’re right. Narratives, arcing, leading somewhere. Threads, interconnecting. I can see it, probably better than you. I can see it.  Points plotted on a graph. The exact moment that Tracy realized who they were. The very moment Diana decided to tell me she loved me. Her in a hole, surrounded by monsters, realizing that living is the only thing that matters. The exact moment you let yourself stop thinking of me as a person, when I became an object to you. Me, right now, realizing that you can’t save everyone. But you have to try… You…

She looks at you, desperately.

Antimony: You do. You have to try.

YOU: And that is what we will do, honey.

Wren smiles, slightly, nodding. 

Wren: And… All of these plotted points are connected into lines, every bit of joy and suffering that have ever happened to us, making up these endless marches into a black hole of uncertainty. Death, maybe? Pain, to be sure. Apophis. This gnawing darkness. Our whole lives, just…. A single file march into the mouth of death. And it’s… It’s not fair. It isn’t fair, it isn’t good, and I’d love nothing more than for it to just stop, for us all to be okay. 

She looks at you, her eyes glistening, and it’s true. It’s all true. It isn’t fair, and it isn’t good, and it isn’t something you can fight or stop. But it’s too late to stop now. And for what it is worth, I am sorry. To all of you. You’re all good kids, and you all deserve to be okay. But you can’t. I’m sorry.

YOU: What? Who-

For a moment, you thought you heard some voice speaking to you, but you can feel it slipping out of your memory. You shake your head, and look at your girlfriend. She’s so pretty it kind of hurts a tiny bit. 

YOU: I am so sorry, Wren.

Wren smiles, giving awkward finger guns.

Wren: Not your fault, ma’am. Not yours either, Annie. Not any of our faults. Ryan… I’m going to fight you, and you haven’t said one word to me, so I don’t know if you can really understand me, but… But I’m sorry, okay man? 

Ryan lunges forward, and her eyes glint with purple light as she pulls her sword out of it’s sheath. He sends a long, spiked tendril of an arm flying at her, and she blocks it with her sword. The monster that was Ryan hisses in pain. She strikes him, with the flat end of the blade, knocking him back. 

Sam jumps forward, slamming his broken, stunted blade into the back of Ryan’s leg. Ryan shrieks, as the weird crab shell around him cracks a tiny bit, just right there. Black smoke wafts out of the crack. 

Antimony flies forward, and you run beneath her, clenching your fists. You love having vague super strength! You love being able to bench press but not even having to exercise to remain strong! You also love punching things. You pull your sword out of its sheath. You whack Ryan’s knee with the flat of the blade, hard enough to make him stagger back, and trip, falling to the ground. Antimony blasts him with green fire, and he screams, spitting in rage. He staggers to his feet, the strange halo of red energy exploding around him.

Every atom, every molecule of your body is in jeopardy, bouncing around, collisions. You didn’t predict that attack, how did he do that? Your precognition should have- Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Your body is flailing down the road, bouncing and twitching. You stagger to your feet, drool and tears of pain mixing on your face. You shake your head like a wet dog, wiping snot off your face and doing a pretty awesome battle cry. Everyone else is also lying around on the road, except Antimony, who appears to have been launched the furthest. She’s in a tree behind you, kicking and yelling.

Antimony: *horrific stream of expletives* 

YOU: 0_0

Sam: 0_0

Tracy: Hehehe.

Wren: That’s my girl. :D

Sam: Jeez. I’ve never heard most of those words aloud.

Tracy: You’re lying now.

Sam: Okay, yeah, T said most of them early on, but you know. 

Sam shrugs, launching himself right back into the fray.

Sam: Uh, I’m assuming that Ryan has to charge that last attack, otherwise, I’m a tiny bit cooked. Tracy, you can heal me later, but maybe help our friends.

YOU: Not necessary-

You take a step forward, and your body realizes how much pain it’s in. You collapse to the ground.

Tracy: I’ve got you, Diana. 

They grab your shoulder, hissing in pain as a black scar spreads across the nape of their neck. You can feel cuts closing and bruises becoming less severe. Your butt bone, which you think you might have broken, begins to mend as well. That’s good! You stand up.

YOU: Thank you, Mx. Peixoto. 

Tracy: It’s my job, don’t worry about it. Now, Wren and Antimony-

Wren has already gotten up. She walks over. 

Wren: Just a few cuts, I’m okay, Tracy. Thanks for helping my girl. 

Tracy: This isn’t a martyr thing, is it?

Wren: No, I’m genuinely fine. But again, thanks. And it looks like Annie is too angry to be hurt.

Antimony is flying, throwing herself at Ryan, eyes glowing again. She’s doing a battle cry that’s MUCH better than yours. You feel a little jealous now!!!

Ryan looks like he’s charging his halo attack again, but… Antimony’s entire body is glowing green. Her eyes are black. Her mouth is wide open.

Antimony: DON’T HURT MY GIRLFRIENDS, BLOCKHEAD!

She punches him in the face. It looks like she’s covered her whole body with that green fire, somehow. He staggers back. His eye socket goes black, and he falls to the ground, unconscious. Wow. Antimony is awesome. 

Wait okay… What do you do now? 

hey gang im going to try to get one more part up before the end of tomorrow but after that im out of town for a while! if i don't get a part by then, i will catch you in a few. wish me luck at state!!!

MAKE SURE RYAN IS UNCONSCIOUS==>

Antimony falls from the air, and Wren barrels forward to grab her, gently setting her down. You look down at Ryan, or what used to be Ryan. A good part of you was thinking that he would revert back to humanity, but that is not happening. He remains a giant monster. You walk over, prodding him with your feet. His body is no longer growing red, it’s more of a dark, dusty maroon. Still a giant spike-covered skeleton though. He isn’t moving. He must be out cold.

Sam: Wow. Antimony soloed him. That’s crazy. 

Tracy: We should probably… Do something with him? Keep him restrained in some way?

Sam: Uh, don’t we need him? To fight Big A?

YOU: “big a?”

Sam: Uh, Apophis.

Tracy: At this point… I think we need to use a clone. They’re available, and as Antimony rather impressively demonstrates, they are more than capable of Awakening and using their powers rather well. Ryan is too volatile. I do feel very bad for him, but… 

Wren: I think you’re right.

Wren walks over, holding Antimony’s hand, and walking her to your group. Antimony! Is she okay?

CHECK UP ON ANNIE==>

YOU: Annie, are you okay?

Antimony: Hehehe… Yes, I am okay, Deen. Um…

She looks a little embarrassed.

Antimony: Sorry about, kind of, um… Freaking out? That is not like me, I apologize. :| 

Wren: Dude, no, that was awesome! :D 

Antimony: Oh, yeah. I guess so?

YOU: It was really cool :3

Antimony: Thank you, Deen :3 

Tracy: Do you need healing?

Antimony: I do not think so? The tree hurt quite a bit, but I am not feeling very much pain as of now… 

Tracy: Alright, well… keep me posted. 

Sam: Uh…

Sam points at the crumpled body of Ryan. He shrugs vaguely, tilting his head.

Sam: What we doin’ with the… the body? Just asking. 

You look around. Hm. There are a few nice houses around here, and a bunch of bikes littered around. There’s an unlocked bike chain as well. Wren tugs your sleeve, pointing vaguely at an open door to a basement, one of those doors that stick up out of the ground. You take her meaning fairly quickly. The cellar likely lacks access to the main house. Drop the body, barricade the door, a quick and easy prison. 

You’re really strong, man, and so is Sam, so the two of you carry Ryan’s unconscious body to the cellar. Wren helps a good deal, it seems like she got some super strength as well. He’s heavy! It’s like hauling a giant statue around. You’re sweating, but it’s raining, so it isn’t as unpleasant as it might have been otherwise! Your body is a machine that turns bad quality pizza into feats of superhuman strength.

Wren: …

Sam: Uh, you okay, Wren? I think we’re all pretty shaken up, but you were probably the closest to Ryan.

Wren: Ha. Yeah. How sad is that? He never even tried to bond with any of you. He just… He was obsessed with me. He’s… Why am I talking about him like he’s dead? 

She shakes her head, tearing up. She groans, burying her face in her hands.

YOU: Do you want me to hug you, Wren?

Wren: Yeah. Always. 

You hug her, feeling her cold, skinny, shuddering body. She strokes your hair. You scratch behind her ear, and she makes a joking little bark noise. You’re petting her like a dog. Huh. Weird… But she seems to like it.

Wren: Thank you, Deen. 

Sam: Yeah thanks for hugging her so i didn’t have to. Last time I tried to comfort someone, it was Alex, and she ended up falling down a flight of stairs. So you know, I would knock you down. Probably. Clumsy guy.

Wren: Are you trying to distract me by being a weirdo, Sam?

Sam: Yeah you caught me.

Wren: Well, it is a nice thought, my friend. 

Tracy appears to have hotwired a car in the driveway. Huh. 

Antimony: Get away from the cellar door, guys!

You slam the door on the unconscious Ryan, and leap out of the way. Sam and Wren do as well. Tracy barrels forward in the car, and opens the door. They leap out of the car, rolling into the grass, as the car crashes on top of the cellar door. He’ll be trapped under there now.

Wren: …

Diana: We will come back for him, honey. 

Wren: Yeah.

Antimony: We will, Wren.

Wren: Yeah. Okay.

Okay. What now? Do you go and find Alex, Maybe?

im back! we didn't win but my bestie and i hung out and our bond has strengthened impossibly, so it was all worth it! feel free to send in commands now!

pwease 

@celine: oh, yeah, i agree completely. honestly, for me at least, a good amount of my writing is creating characters, deciding what they are, and then watching with utter terror as they deal with situations in ways i find atrocious. their decision was DEFINITELY bad… but it was pretty much in character. it’s certainly not a permanent solution, it’s a band-aid. Ryan will continue to be a player in events, probably. that’s not a spoiler, it’s pretty much implicit. 

uh we have anxiety folks. anytime engagement drops, i panic, it’s a whole thing. uh, i know, in my brain, that you lovely folks are just busy, but part of my brain is also like NO THEY HATE YOU NOW. uh, just… if anyone ever has the intention to stop playing, or, like, gets mad at me, let me know, that’s one of my primary anxieties, because it's a lot easier to quit reading this than start, especially now that it’s so long. i’m an anxious freak, sorry! certified girlfailure! 

i really like feeling like a girl :D 

~~

FIND ALEX==>

Your thoughts do a thing that your thoughts sometimes do, where your brain feels a sudden rush of fears and anxieties, primarily about Ryan. What if he leaves? You can think of a half dozen ways he could! Also… your moral foundations feel a bit less firm, what with having trapped your friend in a cellar and everything… But, no. You’ll come back for him, seriously, that wasn’t you saying something to make your girlfriend feel better. You meant it! 

But no, now you’re looking for Alex. Your motley crew walks quietly, and honestly a little sullenly, down the street, on the sidewalk. Wren is leaning on you heavily, her eyes weary and half-lidded, her skin cold. Antimony is using her sword as a cane now, which is kind of awesome. Although she also has her cane, so there’s no real reason to do that? You guess it’s for the aesthetic. Fair enough. Sam and Tracy are up in the front, walking with a comparative ease. You turn to the side and see a pair of clones fighting one of those vent-faced guys across the street. It looks like a clone of you and of Tracy? 

YOU: Uh… DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?

Diana-Clone: (we got this, do not worry!0

YOU: WHAT?

Tracy-Clone: WE’RE ALL GOOD!

Diana-Clone: WE ARE MAKING A PILGRIMAGE BACK TO APOPHIS SOON! THIS TRACY SAVED FROM DYING FROM LIKE SEVEN BROKEN RIBS!

Wren: Okay, that’s kind of cool. I guess there’s just horribly scarred clones wandering around now.

Antimony: There was already one >:3

YOU: There are no clones of you, Wren! You scared Hastur too much!

Sam: Haha yeah you’re awesome, Wren.

Tracy: She is too legit.

Sam: Too legit to quit?

Tracy: Correct.

You smell wet pine. You’re totally soaked. It’s so wet out here… and… IT'S WINDY. You wish you had a raincoat, but this is Western Washington. Nobody here has raincoats. That would be like having an aircoat. Generally the rain isn’t trying to kill you though. This water is up past your ankles… Things are getting serious! 

You look up toward the town hall. Most of the cars have left the parking lot. That looks like Alex wandering out with his mom. She looks like she’s kind of yelling at her mom, maybe? You can’t really hear, because IT WIMDY, but she’s gesticulating wildly and her mom is standing with a rigid posture that might be frustration?

Alex stops. She buries her face in her hands. Alice stands there, swaying back and forth slightly. Alice awkwardly brings her arms out to her sides, and Alex looks up. She hugs her mom tightly. 

The two stand like that, hugging as hard as they can, for a while. Your group sort of pauses on the sidewalk.

Tracy: I really don’t think we should interrupt whatever this is. It looks…

Antimony: Private. Yes. 

Tracy: … It looks like a nice moment. I… I kind of…

They clear their throat, and shake their head fiercely. Sam gently grabs their shoulder. They look forward vaguely. Something is clearly going on, but you’ve never really been any good with context clues, have you? You look towards Wren, as usual, but she’s got this weird sad face, and so you hug her instead.

YOU: Are you alright, Wren?

Wren: Yeah. I’m good. I just… Wish I knew my mom, you know?

Antimony: :( 

Antimony hugs Wren too.

Wren: Hehe, well, being hugged by two girls does kinda mitigate my sadness, thanks :) 

YOU: Congratulations on Awakening, bee tee double-you. 

Tracy: Yeah, that kinda got glossed over, didn’t it? Good job. Do you feel any differently?

Wren: I kind of feel like an alien, honestly? Like, my viewpoint is weird…

Sam: That’s pretty normal. I got pretty manic after I Awakened.

Tracy: And I felt really really empty. You come down off of it later, you know.

Antimony:... alien?

Wren:  Yeah, just… Kind of this weird sort of lack of restraint or-

Antimony I love aliens :D 

Wren: Haha, okay.

Alice has pulled away from Alex now, and is getting into her car. The engine revs, and the car begins to pull out of the parking lot, leaving Alex, who is waving goodbye. The minivan turns onto the road, heading toward you. She stops the car, and rolls her window down.

Alice: Hey guys. Good luck, okay?

Wren: Thanks, Auntie Alice. 

Alice: I… Oh, jeez, I can’t talk for long, I’m gonna cry. I believe in you, all of you.

YOU: Thank you, Ms. Hawthorne.

Alice: Please call me Alice. We’re both adults now, we’ve been through the same things. You’re allowed, I promise.

YOU: Okay. Thank you, Alice.

Antimony: Yes, thank you. 

Alice: I wanted to stay, you know, help you. But Alex talked me out of it, I guess. Said she didn’t want me dead or something lame like that. Look, I love you kids, okay? I know you have superpowers and stuff, but take care of yourselves, okay? 

Sam: Okay mom.

Alice: I know you’re making fun of me, but yeah, I’m basically your Mom, Sam. You need adult supervision at all times.

Sam: True

Alice: You be careful specifically, Sam. Actually, all of you, seriously, quit trying to lay your lives down for those you love. This martyr stuff has got to stop, okay? 

Tracy: I will ensure everyone who needs healing is healed, ma’am.

Alice: Yeah, okay, you also need to take care of yourself, capische? Don’t spend all your strength. Your life is also important, okay?

Tracy: …

Alice: Okay?

Tracy: K.

Alice smiles slightly, and rolls up the window. She waves goodbye, and drives away. Alex is walking up to you, down the sidewalk. Your group walks up to her as well. She looks like she might have been crying a little bit recently. She waves now, though, and attempts a smile.

Alex: Hey guys. Did you get Ryan?

Tracy: It’s a little complicat-

Sam: We beat him up and locked him in a basement lol

Tracy: Why do I love you?

Sam: I have absolutely no idea.

Alex turns to Wren.

Alex: I think you’ll give me an accurate description of what actually happened?

Wren: Ryan forced our hand. We fought him, yes, and I Awakened. I think he was trying to bait us into, I don’t know. Punishing him for his crimes? But we put him in a basement and kind of trapped him there. 

Alex: Got it. And now everyone has Awakened except me. Awesome.

Sam: Aw, you’re just a late bloomer, Alex. Soon you’ll hit your trauma apex like the rest of us. 

Tracy: Or, “learn a lesson.” Whatever it is we’re meant to do. 

Alex: Heh. Yeah. Okay, what should we do next? I’d like to go check out the bridge and boats, to make sure everyone’s getting out safely. Or we could just head straight for Apophis? I dunno.

Hm. What do you do?

BRIDGE AND BOATS ==>

Yeah! You should make sure everyone is safe! That’s the most important thing! But it’s going to be difficult to get that far. Hmm. You look around. Lots of cars around.

YOU: We should certainly go to the bridge! Our friends and family are the most important thing!

Antimony: Agreed!

Wren: Natch.

YOU: However… I am uncertain as to how we are going to transport ourselves? It is a lot of ground to cover on foot, you know? 

Tracy suddenly goes rigid.

Tracy: I have an idea.

Alex: Is it hotwiring a car.

Tracy: It… might be?

Alex: Look, man… That’s… Okay actually that’s not that bad of an idea. I kinda just default to being snarky. Yeah, I don’t have any problem with that.

Sam: Does anyone? 

Wren: Uh… As, you know, defenders of Emerald Springs, it might be a bad idea to steal the property of those we’ve sworn to protect or whatever. And Tracy, don’t you have a motorcycle?

Tracy: Yes. It fits three people at most, and not safely. Mostly it’s for me and my wife.

Sam: I’m their wife.

Wren: Okay, yes, that’s fair. Hmm. Alright, yeah. It’s just… It does feel kinda weird to just take a stranger's car. 

Sam: Counterpoint: It would make Tracy really happy.

Tracy: It would :/ Maybe there’s something wrong with me.

Wren: Well, look, we don’t have any alternatives, do we? Yeah, go crazy, Tracy.

They pump their fist, wiggling their hips around, and then moonwalk over to a black sedan, all without altering their facial expression even slightly. It’s a pretty surreal sight. Jeez, they’re so cool! They’re everything you wish you were… 

Antimony: Man they are cool :0

Wren: Yeah.  While they’re getting… uncomfortably personal with a vehicle… What did you talk about with Auntie Alice, Alex?

Alex: Uh… She really wanted to help us fight Apophis, you know. She’s my mom. She cares a lot about me. And all of us. She messed up a lot when I was a boy but she always tried to do right by me. And I think she blames Apophis for what happened to her sisters. But, you know. I know that all Apophis wants is to hurt us, and if He hurt my mom… That would hurt me a lot more than if He just hurt me. So she’s especially unsafe if we fight Him. I bet He’d target her.

Huh. You hadn’t thought about that, but it stands to reason. You guess it’s a good thing that your party has the codependent build where everyone is incapable of surviving without the rest. Keeps things even. (Ryan being an exception to that rule.) (because he fixated on Wren.) (to the detriment of all else.) (and that’s YOUR job >:| )

Tracy is now making weird noises really loudly in sync with the noises that the car is making. Huh. It seems to be working though. The car is roaring to life. Sputtering out steam into the air as it shudders. Tracy waves everyone over. Alex, you, and Wren get in the back three seats. Antimony gets shotgun, and Sam is kind of hunched over Tracy’s lap, with his feet on the dashboard.

Alex: Sam, that… That doesn’t seem safe. 

Sam: Uh that’s where you’re wrong, Alex. This is perfectly safe. Look, now my feet aren’t in the way, so they can work the pedals without issue. 

Alex: Do your legs not obstruct their vision, though? Because-

Tracy: I’m a really good driver. 

Alex: Okay, awesome.

Tracy blazes out of the parking lot! It’s pretty awesome, although Wren kinda looks like she might be sick. The car runs down the road, water flying in all directions. In a few hours, you bet it’ll be too flooded to even drive. 

The car makes it to the area that seems to mainly be flooded fields. It looks like a swamp now, and out there in the marsh you can see it. The black dome Apophis is trapped in. It appears to be growing? Tracy keeps driving though, and soon enough you’re passing the apartment that you and your girlfriends live in. 

Sam: Look, it's your apartment. 

Wren: Yep!

YOU: I hope that all those cats that live out back are okay!

Antimony: I am sure someone brought them in. Kinzoku probably did, at least.

YOU: Yeah, but I am still worried :( 

Now the car is passing the last ring of trees before the steep incline and the bridge. You can sort of see the bridge through the trees, and a few small boats. It looks like most of the people getting in the boats had carpooled over to the bridge.

YOU: Why didn’t they just carpool over the bridge?

Sam: Uh probably they didn’t really know the people driving or want to go where they’re going.

YOU: Ah.

Wren: And some of them were driven over by those government spooks, remember?

YOU: Oh! Yes, okay. I can see Mom and Dad down there. Hehehe. Mom has a bull horn.

Antimony: Um… that is not all I see. Look. Towards the shore.

You do so, and you see it. Those vent-faced monsters, the scaly things… They’re leaving the sound, in large quantities. Walking up to the shore, towards the civilians! Others are swimming towards the boat! This is the exact kind of thing you can deal with, so you should probably do that! 

What do you do?

@azalea: yeahhh i kinda regret saying that. i was tired, and kinda overly emotional tbh :/ not really fair of me to make that someone else’s issue! glad to be stuck w/ you!!! and i love the nimona book! it’s not something i was consciously using as inspiration but i’ve read it so it’s somewhere in the sludge of media that makes up my thoughts. and yeah there are some weird parallels with ryan and nimona now that i think about it… similar tropes make up their arcs. weird! 0_0 anyway, a VERY welcome comparison, ND Stevenson is incredible!!!

everybody, happy thanksgiving! im thankful for all of you guys and your help with this project! Hope you enjoyed your turkey, if you parturk! im also thankful for the MOUNTAIN GOATS CONCERT IM GOING TO IN A COUPLE DAYS YEAHHH!!! i wont be able to post parts for about two days but ill definitely have some yapping to do when i’m back!

~~

DIVERT THOSE CREATURES! ==>

These monsters are lurching towards your friends and family, and that isn’t cool! Fortunately, they’re moving very slowly… And they honestly don’t look enthused by their task. They’re moving like machines, driven slowly and through no will of their own, to some greater purpose. Hmmm… Theory developing?

YOU: Hey guys, remember how The Old Voice uses the body of a monster as a host?

Wren: A “Woodsman,” yeah? Yeah. 

YOU: I think that these creatures are being used in a similar way by Apophis! He is clearly not exerting as heavy a level of control on them but… Look, does it not look like they are being puppeteered? 

Alex: Uh, you’ve got a point, but we don’t really know very much about, like, the body language of an alien species, do we?

Antimony: No, but I think Deen is getting somewhere… If they are truly being controlled by the guy who, by His own admission, exists solely to destroy us, would they not prioritize getting us over getting any civilians? 

Sam: Huh, okay…

YOU: Exactly! We can probably divert their attention by making a ruckus!

Tracy: Hm. Good plan.

Wren: Yeah, why am I even the leader? My girls have it pretty much figured out, huh?

YOU: Aww :3 

Your group runs down towards the monsters, yelling and waving your arms around. Alex gives a pretty convincing war cry, and you’re shaking in your boots as a result! Antimony hurls herself down the hill, and since her powers only seem to kick in when she’s in immediate danger, she begins flying, her eyes glowing an inhuman green again, in distinct contrast to their usual brown. She sets her cane down and flies towards the monsters, waving her sword erratically.

Antimony: SUPER SAIYAN MODE :3 

Sam: Huh wait, that's actually pretty accurate.

Tracy: Is it? I haven’t seen the show.

YOU: Neither has Antimony!

As you predicted, the monsters are all completely fixated on you now. They turn, slowly, and face you. They begin to lurch towards you. Your mom seems to see and understand what you’re doing, because she begins barking commands through her bullhorn, telling people to leave as quickly as they can. People hurry towards the boats. PSS Agents are ushering people back into their cars as well, telling them to hurry, that they’ll get them across the bridge and regroup over in Stanwood. You shoot a look at Lillie, who gives you a huge thumbs up. 

A monster lurches at you, hitting you so hard that you go flying. Man, why didn’t you precognate that? You’re not on your A-game, are you? 

YOU: Oof!

Wren: Are you okay, honey?

YOU: Yeah, I am fine!

You stand up and dust your pants off. Your precognition picks up on the next imminent attack, but honestly, it wouldn’t have even had to! These things are so slow! It waits a good five seconds before even swinging at you! You deliver a solid punch.

YOU: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!

Jeez louise these things are strong! You wiggle your fingers. Nothing’s broken, you hope, but that was like punching a brick wall! Except your newfound strength means punching brick walls doesn’t actually hurt all that much anymore… A concrete wall.

You turn around and see that Wren and Alex are trying to double-team one of these guys, swinging their swords at it. It’s making it flinch a little bit, but it’s not even putting a chip in its scaled hide. These things are so strong! It’s kind of making you mad… 

Alex: Okay, this is pissing me off a little bit.

Wren: Agreed!

Sam jumps, holding his broken sword over his head and slamming it into the monster’s head. It still doesn’t break the scales, but the monster falls over. Looks like Sam knocked it out? 

Nope.

It’s standing up >:(

YOU: ARRRGHHH!

Alex: Wait! I have an idea?

Alex points at Antimony.

Alex: Pick me up and fly me around, okay?

Antimony grabs Alex, but she isn’t really very strong. I mean, hours in the gym, but she’s still 5’2. No superpowers. So the fact that she’s carrying an entire person is really impressive! Alex gestures over to a monster and, with the help of Antimony throwing her like a hacky sack, roundhouse kicks that moron right in its face! Awesome?! The monster staggers back, braying in pain.

Alex: The ventilation in their faces! It’s a weak point, I think!

Tracy: Hm. They don’t seem to have eyes or ears… It follows that this is a sensory organ of some kind. Hitting it would at least send it off balance.

YOU: They seem to be under Apophis’s control so… try not to, like, permanently mutilate their sensory organs? Maybe just use the flat end of your swords? 

Sam: Aw dude my sword’s sharp on all sides since the Ry-Dog broke it. Maybe I’ll just jump and punch. 

Wren: We only need to distract these guys until everyone’s left, remember! 

You look around. Most of the cars are at least on the bridge now, and the boats are mostly filled. You won’t have to stall for too long! 

Your group is smacking monsters in the face like crazy now! It seems to be working, as the monsters are staggering around, disoriented. One grabs Alex by the arm, its claws digging into her skin, but Sam is right there to clock that freak in the face! Everything seems to be going well! 

And then it happens.

It starts with a low rumbling, like you feel when lightning strikes. But it keeps going, and going, and going. Maybe an earthquake, but the ground isn’t shaking. You’re shaking. You know that. You’re shaking, and your teeth are chattering. Your bones are chattering. 

And the sky is green. A bright, toxic green. And then the sky is red.

A loud sound, wow, a really loud sound. Like an explosion pitched up, looping over itself. Ow! Your brain is on fire. The sky is purple. The sky is black. Green and red. Ow. Ow. 

Everyone is looking up at the sky, at the dome. The black dome, fracturing and warping. Something inside, trying to force Its way out. There are clones flying through the sky like shooting stars. One is glowing red, spiking, shifting and mutating. 

And then the bridge explodes into rubble.

What do you do? Seriously, what?

~~

ah, sorry about ending on a cliffhanger!!! just two days though! ily guys /p !!! :P