ALL MANNER OF THING.

[strangerpeople]

ALL MANNER OF THING.

[It's some time before the light dies down. Before you all return to yourselves. Before you realize you are all on the floor of the Throne of Hours.

And that Lilac is poking you with a cane.]

Ah, excellent, you're not dead.

[A gentle golden light streams into the room. Is it the Sun? It might just be.

You look upwards to the top of the Throne. The massive monster lies there, a pink ichor dripping from it. It's eye is rolled up, and it doesn't move.

There is no sign of the golem, or the Soul Gem-]

Oh. You're all awake. Are you all right?

[The golem walks in, still cuddling the cat. There is something...different about her. More human?

The Soul Gem is still nowhere to be see, but one might be able to see a glowing ring on her finger. She slowly walks over, and offers a hand to everyone.]

We...should probably talk. I...there's something I want you to see, as well.

[Will you take it?]

Comments

[overworker]

[Towa accepts the hand, when she’s finished making sure everyone else is accounted for and that there doesn’t seem to be anything immediately wrong.]

What... happened, just then?

[friedwings]

I made my wish.

[She pulls Towa up.]

I...it's complicated? But I...you guys gave me the idea. I used my power to fix a few things. Not...everything.

But enough.

[unwittingking]

[King is...honestly more dazed than anything, at the moment? All of that sure did happen and, somehow, it seems like they all lived, so that’s a good thing. Because it seems like any big threats are under control now, he’ll be turning back into his normal corgi form (Hopefully nothing else will happen to make him regret that).

He won’t accept that hand, though, instead pushing himself up a little unsteadily.]

If this is about any more trains or wishes, I swear I’m gonna bite that hand.

[He may be Dazed & Confused, but he’s not above snarking at the moment.]

[friedwings]

...So I guess you don't want a ride out of here then?

[WAT IS THIS SNARK???]

[katzenpfote]

[Frumpkin is nestled against Caleb’s chest as he’s prodded awake, purring gently. He groans and puts an arm around Frumpkin before accepting the hand up. He’s used to being woken up during or after a fight, so it’s... fine.]

I think that would be wise, yes.

[1/3]

[friedwings]

[With a nod, Chaesun begins to lead the wa-]

[2/3]

[15unknowns]

[oh sweet fuck]

So-

[charmingheroine]

Are you sure about that?

[Because honestly, Charlotte feels like she might be dead. Just a little bit. That she grabbed for Lilac's cane and missed adds to the impression.

True, it could be dehydration coupled with stress coupled with finally really feeling what she did to her chin. But it also could be "dead".

She's just going to stay down here on the floor for a bit. Sitting up doesn't seem too wise.]

[friedwings]

I'm pretty sure! More sure than I've been...well, in a while.

[katzenpfote]

[There’s a bengal cat meowing in your face, Charlotte. Time to get up. Fight’s over.]

[overworker]

[She doesn't want to trouble Charlotte-- maybe she should stay out of the way... but at least for a moment, Towa wants to check on her, once she's had some water.]

Are you feeling better?

[technicolourdifficulties]

[What's that entering your field of vision there, Charlotte? Why, it's everyone's favorite telly monster, grinning up a storm, for once leaking the green the sun no longer is.]

Time to get up, Dorothy.

[eternaldivide]

[ Well, first thing Mithos wakes up is look to see if Ris is okay. Once he can confirm that he'll sit up, but he doesn't take Golem's hand. ]

What's this you want us to see?

[friedwings]

The sun.

I...I finally fixed it.

[higanbana]

[She's fine, she's fine, just... mgggh does she have to get up. Floor is comfortable. Floor isn't eating her like a marshmallow and seriously she hasn't had proper sleep in like a week—

But yeah, okay, she'll get herself to her feet as well. No touchy, golem.]

[biddentodance]

[Zzzzz.]

[charmingheroine]

[Charlotte looks down, having finished that water, and suddenly setting the glass down carefully doesn't matter. It can roll away, she doesn't care.

She'd thought about "after", before - before whatever it was that happened.

She feels like she clawed her way through briars and fought a dragon and climbed a tower, and Minato is asleep. Just asleep, he's still breathing. She's no prince, even if she looks like someone ought to be weeping to wash thorns out of her eyes (but that's a different story with a tower, but - ) and as pretty as he is, he's no princess - but maybe he'll laugh if she explains, later.

They have "later" to think about. He just has to wake up, and in stories that make more sense than this entire ordeal ever will there's a sure-fire way of doing that.

For the second time, Charlotte leans in and kisses Minato without asking first.]

[otherworldlyking]

Talk about what?

[ He doesn't take the hand as he stands, though at least he's not looking to do any stabbing right now. ]

[overworker]

[Well, he's okay. Nothing says it more than him being him. Good. One less thing to worry about.]

I can't think of at least a few things that might warrant discussing after that, Bernie.

[technicolourdifficulties]

[RGB does not take the hand up, if mostly because she has not earned the rare privilege of the monster willingly making and sort of physical contact. Instead he tries to do a fancy trick where he leaps directly to his feet, which would have been quite impressive... except for the fact that he miscalculates and overbalances, screen heading towards the floor at enough speed that it would probably crack the glass-

...Except his instincts kick in, and suddenly his head appears to be covered in some sort of opaque crystal. It would probably be quite pretty with all the various colours it is, if it weren't for the fact that it does make quite a lot of noise when he hits the floor.

He proceeds not to move for a moment, though this is mostly just because he went and embarrassed himself.]

[otherworldlyking]

[ That gets an amused glance. At least there was a little entertainment around here. ]

SHALL BE-

[disregartist]

[As people go into the light of the Sun. As the Strangers enjoy the good news that they might finally, finally get to go home after all of these months-

Lilac's phone rings.]

Mm?

[She picks it up. Her neutral face slowly sets into a frown.]

...

We have a problem.

[katzenpfote]

[Uh oh.]

... What is it?

Catherding

[katzenpfote]

[Right. He's memorized what he has available, but it's enough to prove that the Sun has a language.]

We need to discuss the options before us.

We could simply go and find those people from our worlds.

Or we could try to talk to the Sun.

Contracting with those things is not an option for any of us.

Do we have any other ideas?

[otherworldlyking]

Too bad fighting the Sun isn't an option.

[ Like he absolutely knows better by now, but seriously. ]

GOODBYE.

[strangerpeople]

[The discussions went far into the night. Or, what passed as night with the Clockwork Sun out the window. What would be done, who would go where. Who would go home and how.

In the end, the Empress surmised that it would take several weeks to retrofit a transport that would be able to go through the new wefts that opened in the Blue Kingdom, to go home or to the mysterious coordinates. They would have to get there while Invisible, but the transports were being designed to withstand just about anything short of antimatter. The weapons, as well. Just in case. Those who would go into the wefts to search the coordinates would be able to go, with the Empress' blessing.

Likewise, those who wished to stay for the time being could, as well. There was time, now. The Clockwork Sun was no longer filled with the malice it once had, but nor was it a thing simply controlled or powered by a soul. It would no longer turn those exposed to glass.

Speaking of. Chaesun does not say where Rika is, now. She is alive, but that is all. The people trapped in Perdurance have been freed. Those who are alive but crystalized, whose who still fall within the New Sequence, are slowly-ever so slowly, but surely-being worked on. They may yet be restored to what they once were.

As for your worlds? They are missing pieces, as you are no doubt aware, but it is strange. For those who immediately return, they find that time has passed differently for each person's world, in comparison to this world. For some, mere minutes have passed; others have had no time pass at all. Yet you have been here far longer than the time they missed you all combined.

It makes no sense. There has to be a reason for it-even the Empress is confused. But maybe for once, it is a comfort to know there is still time left, as well, in the worlds you left behind. There is also, the Empress has promised, progress on finding a means of restoring powers that Piranesi had shaped out of them.

The Sapphir'd King, seeing that "progress" is being made on ensuring his realm loses no more souls, stall stay his might. For now. For once, in this terrible game of the stars, someone has won. For a lack of a better term. This is not a universe where someone merely "wins". Suns revolve. Time passes. People live, and people die. For the great, and the small, the Great Game never stops and never will until the final embers of light are Extinguished over nothing, and hungry void is all that is left.

There is a game afoot even now. The greater power behind even this awaits the arrival of the Strangers. By train or plane or other means, it prepares for its final battle with you all.

But for now. For now.

All is well.]


((OOC: And that officially ends Round 5 of 15 Strangers! Never fear, though-we shall be backtagging for all of you guys who want to keep playing things out here in this post and others! HMD will also be up in the next few days, so look out for that!

From us to you, thank you so much for making this such an awesome round!! ♥))