main plot All Lights Quenched

[I think I am here. he/him]

22 hours ago, Sorana said:

“Are you even within range? Or maybe wait till your shots counts, I don't know."

Mike asked and looked at the looming figure. It was away from them, and he had no idea how Wes even planned to hit something that far away. But then he barely hit a target on the other side of the room, so he probably was the wrong one to judge that. Judging distances had never been his strength.

"I'm sorry."

He whispered, realized he had panic, had allowed for his fear to control him.

"I'll get you more ammunition. Do you need anything special?"

“No,” Wes said, looked to Ajax and his machine gun and groaned, resting his forehead on the large metal contraption.

“I’m not even in range,” he whispered back and closed his eyes.

“But I had to do something. Otherwise I’m just a useless underling. I can’t even turn into animals like you or heal like Seom.” And it wasn’t like he had someone who really cared about him anyway, like how Mike and Seom were dating. His parents had abandoned him from birth, he’d been raised by the Ghostbloods who had always been cold towards him.

——-

22 hours ago, Sorana said:

I grew up in Iri. Her eyes met his profile, wondered when he had started to plan this. She'd never told him, but of course there were documents where the Ghostbloods had recruited her. With some effort he probably had found it out easily. Iri. She'd never planned to return there, but the thought to show him her past, to let him into that chapter of her life. It was a good thought. And maybe she could close it afterwards forever.

The leecher bomb will leave me unable to do anything. More than unable. I crossed the border into the unhealthy amount of stormlight a while ago.

Sometime when she'd healed all that poison, when she got them out. She would have to protect the metalmind, probably in aluminum. Still she was uncomfortable with the prospect to completely run out. She trusted Max, but he probably had to act afterwards, wasn't there to make sure she was able to move again. Somehow she'd hoped she could get them home and then collapse in their bed.

Oh, Max said, then thought of an idea.

If you Elsecall into Shadesmar just as the bomb goes off, you should be unaffected. The bomb would only affect the Physical Realm, right?

He paused and looked to Ajax again. When this was all over, they’d take a vacation to Iri.

Be glad I didn’t surprise you with Iri on the day, he joked. I know you like to plan.

[+Sorana she/her]

32 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“But I had to do something. Otherwise I’m just a useless underling. I can’t even turn into animals like you or heal like Seom.” And it wasn’t like he had someone who really cared about him anyway, like how Mike and Seom were dating. His parents had abandoned him from birth, he’d been raised by the Ghostbloods who had always been cold towards him.

Wes sat there, his face resting on his gun, doing nothing anymore. It hurt Mike, hurt him more than any blow from an enemy could. How had he missed this. Wes thought of him as his superior, he should have seen it, it was what he was supposed to do. But he was no leader. He was nothing but a fifteen year old boy, trapped in a war too huge for him to understand.

"You're not a useless Underling."

He insisted and sat down next to Wes, touched his shoulder.

"If you insist to compare usefullness, then you are the one that had the idea with the gun, that built it, on a battlefield during a raging battle, while I vomited on the ground. I did nothing so far. I just change into animals and loose all control over my actions."

Mike reached out for his shirt and pulled it up, showed Wes the spikes in his chest. Seven. And they all hurt.

"Wolf. Porcupine. Squirrel. Salmon. Snake. Fox. Squid."

He pointed at all of them.

"And I got them, because I was stupid enough, to try to kill Ark. Because I misstook him, and thought he was someone else. And instead of questioning, why a murderer is in our training simulation I pulled a gun and tried to shoot him. And instead of killing me, that guy shoved me into an Alley, and here I am. A beautiful walking experiment. But you know what? If I had been clever, or good at the lessons, maybe someone would have had the mercy to simply kill me. But they all stayed quiet, they just let him decide. Some argued a bit, but none stopped him. Because I'm expendable. Because I'm useless."

Heaving a deep breath he shook his head. Mr. Itiah had organized a healer, and GBWHIPS and stopped Ark at one point, had stopped the questions.

"They assigned me to the hospital to keep track of the patients, to look for threats. They didn't care when I joined the gang. And I thought I'd found a place to stay, a place where I belong. But instead, Bella belongs to those who attack the city. I never knew, but she does."

Realizing he had been talking about a lot of things, but didn't even neared the point he shook his head.

"You are not useless. You are no hero, but you will be. We can be. If we don't give up. And I care. I don't want you to die. So stop saying you're useless, and rust and ruin, stop calling me sir."

======================

32 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

Oh, Max said, then thought of an idea.

If you Elsecall into Shadesmar just as the bomb goes off, you should be unaffected. The bomb would only affect the Physical Realm, right?

He paused and looked to Ajax again. When this was all over, they’d take a vacation to Iri.

Be glad I didn’t surprise you with Iri on the day, he joked. I know you like to plan.

That's a good idea, hopefully it will work. She looked down at the state of their troops. Bad. They had no chance against that man. Wordlessly she ordered a withdrawl. Secure those in hiding, don't attack anymore. Let's wait for Aylitha's reply, then you can tell the guy where to place it.

Listening to his next words, she was glad, that she had adressed a vacation. If he'd really surprised her, she had to over her daily business, had to prepare for the journey.

You know that surprising me, will only complicate things. I will need to cover my eyes and hair. Wear tinted contact lenses against the sunlight, although they aren't as effective as sunglasses, I doubt I can walk around in Roshar with sunglasses on my nose. We need to prepare fitting cloths, and we'll -

Althea paused, considered his words again. It wasn't like Max to hi-jack her with something like that. He knew that she had no chance to leave suddenly. Cloths aside, the Ghostbloods took up the majority of her time.

That was a joke? The surprising me part?

=============

6 hours ago, AonEne said:

Deteca listened to Zokora, listened to the nightmare-inducing voice that rang out after her, nodded to herself, and said, “Maybe we should just stay up here and let the Dark Alley avenge your house.” 

"Flat. I don't own the whole house, only rented two rooms below the roof."

With a sigh she leaned against the remaining balustrade, looked to see if Lord Ajax would change the way he was going. Battle aside, Deteca was probably right. If the DA stepped in, they would only accidently squash their soldiers as well. Pulling out her device she saw, that Althea had already ordered a withdrawl.

"We'll focus our troops on protecting the refugees. They can do nothing about him."

She informed Deteca and then laughed. All the pressure and stress finding an outlet in a loud, almost crazy sounding laugh.

"I wanted to change to colour of the walls in the kitchen anyway. I suppose, this is the perfect chance right now."

 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by Sorana

[kenod]

Quote

I think Aylitha had already replied to Althea?

 

[Darth Woodrack he/him]

Walker heard the Stranger, stopped, and turned around. Let the literal gods deal with it, and if they can’t there’s no way that he can.

[AonEne he/him]

9 hours ago, Sorana said:

GBWHIPS and stopped Ark at one point, had stopped the questions.

Quote

Honestly I should've done more, Mike is right and now I feel bad

"Oh," Deteca said quietly. She lived in a TUBA base and her parents had a whole house, so she didn't have a lot of experience with rentals. "My mistake." Realizing that she'd forgotten to do the same, she fired off several texts telling TUBAists to stay in the tunnels unless they were evacuating. Stupid of me, I should've thought of that. And I don't even know if it was because of this not-thinking-right or just because I suck at being a leader sometimes.

She listened to Zokora's hysterical laugh, then found a seat on a piece of rubble - broken bricks and dusty stone. "What color will you change them to?" @Sorana

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Seom listened to Wes and Mike, and nodded. She still retreated into an alley with Bella, though. "You're not in a shape to get shot," she told Bella as she set the woman down. "Stay here." She watched Bella as she got out her walkie-talkie and radioed in to the Ghostblood mayday frequency. "Are there any available carriers who can still hold wounded? I have the Phoenix here, and we'll need to interrogate her." @Sorana

[Voidus]

Voidus watched the Stranger as he stepped forwards, watched him slowly climb into the air, a cloak of ethereal shapes forming up behind him. He was taking this seriously now, putting on a real show for the city to see. Voidus felt some of the weight around him lift, a small amount, infinitesimally small when compared to the whole. But it allowed his harsh gaze to soften slightly, a little of the tension that he wore faded.

He paused in his stride and turned back to Aylitha, gesturing to the ascending figure of the Stranger.

"If they still want to intervene after hearing that then they're welcome to try." Voidus said. "But let them know that we're not holding back, anyone else who's present remains so at their own risk."

He managed with some effort to pull one corner of his mouth up in a facsimile of a smile before tiredly dropping it again. Perhaps he should simply leave this to the Stranger? If this was to be a lesson then it would require something of a performance. And the Stranger had always been better at that than Voidus had.

Voidus proceeded along the ground, following the Stranger from below. But each step seemed to extend father than it should, in spite of his slow steps he seemed to move forward with great speed. No sense in putting things off any longer, whether the Stranger dealt with it or Voidus did so himself.

[AonEne he/him]

14 minutes ago, Voidus said:

But let them know that we're not holding back

Quote

Should we even be close enough to watch this?

 

[MacThorstenson he/him]

Mac carefully watched the battle happening from the intelligence room, his face grim and unyielding as it took in information from the dozens of screens.

Ajax has killed and hurt thousands. Mac looked at the screens showing blocks being vaporized, lives being torn apart as everything people worked for was gone in seconds.

He destroys randomly, without control. Like I used to. Mac thought back to when he used balefire, feeling a pang of shame for everything that he utterly destroyed for the sake of destruction.

Why had he done that?

As if in response, memories from thousands of years ago began to surface. Memories of a man who destroyed his life. A man who taught him wrongly that to be strong you must lose control. A man who Mac emulated so that he could beat. A man who started Mac's path down the Alleys.

Like that man, Ajax would pay for the lives he wrecked.

Mac shook his head, as if it would clear it.

He had been a different person then. A child. He was a new man now. There was no need to remember the old now that something new was there.

He refocused on the fight and watched as the other department heads moved in from the outside.

Good. He thought, They would teach Ajax a lesson. Not for the same reasons that I would, but a lesson nonetheless.

As he settled in to watch the final battle, a little voice in the back of his head asked him. Why are you just watching quietly? Are you a child again? Unable to fight and defend those who need it?

He blocked the voices out. The inadequate thoughts and negative whispers rarely let up since he had nearly died when Voidus was released, so he learned to ignore them. But deep down, he realized he didn't have an answer to them. For once, they were telling him to do something concrete, as opposed to telling him he wasn't good enough. 

Do you remember why you joined the Dark Alleys? Why you started this quest for knowledge and power? 

Yes, he replied. The image of a man beating his wife flashing through his head, almost too quickly to notice.

Then why don't you fight? 

This time, a different voice replied. Because I'm not good enough. Voidus and the others are better at fighting, more powerful than me. I would only get in the way.

Lies, The first voice shot back, You are the Master of the Alleys, a man who is a better spy then them all put together. You wield the Voids magic. Go out there, and remember why you started to fight. Do what you set out to do all those years ago. Protect those who cannot protect themselves.

With each phrase, Mac realized that the first voice was right.

He could contribute, despite his weakness.

At the very least he saw Walker when he attempted an attack. He could glean something from that. He may not be able to fight, but he could contribute knowledge.

He stood up, grabbing his hat and coat, walking out the door and into the warzone.

---

Mac walked up behind Voidus and Aylitha as the Stranger flew up into the air.

"Hello sir. While you probably don't need it, we have recordings of all of Ajax's attacks in the battle. You can see that he has soulcasting, shardblades, lashings, and something that managed to disrupt Walkers speed at a distance." He turned to look at Ajax as the stranger prepared to rain damnation down on him from above. "You can do with it what you want." He continued in a whisper "Just, Make. Him. Pay."

Edited August 28, 2019 by MacThorstenson

[+Sorana she/her]

15 hours ago, kenod said:

I think Aylitha had already replied to Althea?

Quote

Did I miss that? I interpreted your last reply like "yes, but I will ask someone else about it as well, and see if it disturbs their plans?" Sorry if I got that one wrong.

===============

3 hours ago, AonEne said:

Should we even be close enough to watch this?

Quote

It would be sad if we couldn't Battlefield tourism is great. But we are some distance away, idk. I'm not risking Zokora's spren by getting close to Ajax. If it's far enough away, I have no idea.

"My kitchen used to be in blues and whites. I' p planed to change it to a more mediteranean colour scheme for a while now. Orange and red, some broken white on the walls."

Sitting down as well she sighed again.

"A new kitchen is expensive, so I need to see when I can get that done. Looking at the building they will most likely have to break it down completely, so I'll probably look through, see what I can scavage and then move to our headquarters for a while."

Her hands held on to each other when she imagined moving back to the headquarters. Too many ghosts there.

"Maybe I can ask Althea if she still got her flat in Oasis and go there. I don't know. I'll care about that later. Once this is over."

Sera appeared next for her and Zokora lifted a hand, felt her settle in her palm. She made her smile, always here, always with her. They would fina a place to sleep and then they would find a place to sleep well.

===============

5 hours ago, Sherlock Holmes said:

Seom listened to Wes and Mike, and nodded. She still retreated into an alley with Bella, though. "You're not in a shape to get shot," she told Bella as she set the woman down. "Stay here." She watched Bella as she got out her walkie-talkie and radioed in to the Ghostblood mayday frequency. "Are there any available carriers who can still hold wounded? I have the Phoenix here, and we'll need to interrogate her." @Sorana

"On our way."

Shortly afterwards two men with a strechter ran onto the roof, looked for Seom and headed over.

"She is the injured one? Does she need to be restrained and you please judge how dangerous she is?"

[kenod]

3 hours ago, Sorana said:

  Quote

Did I miss that? I interpreted your last reply like "yes, but I will ask someone else about it as well, and see if it disturbs their plans?" Sorry if I got that one wrong.

Quote

Ah, alright. Well, it turned out the answer to that is yes, so...

Aylitha looked up at Althea, tilting her head when a new message came in. "Never mind," she said. "Apparently the other DA department heads are attacking. They don't have an issue with you coming as well, but it might not end well for your people." She smiled. "Honestly, I'd suggest just getting to a high place and watch the fireworks, it should be fun."

***

Aylitha looked up when Mac arrived, smiling at him. She shook her head as the Stranger flew off. He really shouldn't be doing that when dealing with an unknown enemy. Always gather as much information as possible first. Still, she understood why he was doing it. Sometimes it is satisfying to just crush an enemy, without even bothering to plan, without bothering to take them serious. Well, she thought, at least it will give some information.

She jumped up to the roof of a nearby building, and looked down at the streets below. Moss spread beneath her, eating away at the building, giving her more material, and she smiled. Snapping her fingers her creatures rushed forwards, running at the soldiers in power armor still on the ground. Strange birds with bone-white claws and purple eyes rose out of the moss around her, launching themselves at the flying soldier. She giggled at the irony involved. Bugs swarmed around in the skies, watching what was happening below, helping her steer her army. The giggle grew to a laughter, one echoed by all the creatures attacking, all sounds distorting and overlapping into a giant cacophony.

@RayOfSunshine

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Bella certainly didn't look dangerous right now. "I... think she is dangerous, yeah. Give her something to knock her out, and then she should be fine." @Sorana

[AonEne he/him]

19 hours ago, Sorana said:

It would be sad if we couldn't Battlefield tourism is great. But we are some distance away, idk. I'm not risking Zokora's spren by getting close to Ajax. If it's far enough away, I have no idea.

Quote

Oh I don't blame you, I can't think of any ways to stop the Nahel bond from getting disintegrated...unless maybe you swore a new oath right in the middle of things, maybe?

MAC BACKSTORY? *sits up so fast she falls off her chair* Also it is really weird that I want to give him a hug. Doloken, I want to give half these characters a hug

Seeing Zokora's clear discomfort at the idea of moving to the Ghostblood headquarters, her uncertainty, Deteca bit her tongue - maybe harder than she should've, she realized when it started hurting. Though her mental state was a lot clearer, she was still numb and cold. Considering, she quickly dismissed her immediate thought. Offering a high-ranking Ghostblood a room in a TUBA base - any TUBA base - had too much potential for disaster. Neither side would be super happy. There was another option, however...

"You could stay at my parents' house," she ventured tentatively. "I don't think they're there right now, you'd have the place to yourself until you found somewhere new."

The Stranger came into view, displaying his power, with Voidus and Mac behind him. Well, Deteca was pretty sure they were Voidus and Mac. Moderately sure. At this distance and with her eyesight still recovering, perhaps somewhat sure was the more accurate term.

Edited August 28, 2019 by AonEne
oath not spren

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

15 minutes ago, AonEne said:

MAC BACKSTORY?

Quote

Dare I say, MACstory?

 

[MacThorstenson he/him]

17 minutes ago, AonEne said:

MAC BACKSTORY

Quote

 I'm really happy with how its shaping out.

Quote

1 minute ago, ZincAboutIt said:

MACstory

 

[AonEne he/him]

Quote

I clink block and all it does is make the popup bigger! What is this HR sorcery!? (Would not be surprised if it was actual sorcery)

 

[MacThorstenson he/him]

4 minutes ago, AonEne said:

(Would not be surprised if it was actual sorcery)

Quote

Its not, but I actually like the idea of it being actual sorcery.

Like to be able to use HR powers, the underlings have to write spells and such, which are legal forms filled out in triplicate.

 

[AonEne he/him]

Quote

The newest Alleyverse-specific power: DAHRcery

 

[Voidus]

Quote

Cam secretly holds the Shard of Compliance.

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

22 minutes ago, Voidus said:

Cam secretly holds the Shard of Compliance.

Quote

Wait a second... you can't spell Shard without D A H R...

It's all coming together! 0_0

 

[Fatebreaker he/him]

Quote

Be careful, before you're in too deep...

 

[+Sorana she/her]

18 hours ago, Sherlock Holmes said:

Bella certainly didn't look dangerous right now. "I... think she is dangerous, yeah. Give her something to knock her out, and then she should be fine." @Sorana

The man nodded and they loaded Bella on the strechter.

"We will take her to a safe place and let you know where she is. Or do you want to come along directly?"

Quote

Ark, since I consider making sure your unconcious character stays unconcious is godmodding, I didn't add that part without your consent. I would drug Bella though.

@RayOfSunshine

========================

4 hours ago, AonEne said:

Seeing Zokora's clear discomfort at the idea of moving to the Ghostblood headquarters, her uncertainty, Deteca bit her tongue - maybe harder than she should've, she realized when it started hurting. Though her mental state was a lot clearer, she was still numb and cold. Considering, she quickly dismissed her immediate thought. Offering a high-ranking Ghostblood a room in a TUBA base - any TUBA base - had too much potential for disaster. Neither side would be super happy. There was another option, however...

Zokora's eyes followed Deteca's over to the Stranger, Voidus and Mac. It was... strange, to see all three of them in the same place. That it had come to this, that the situation had escalated that much, that they needed these three to clean up.

She shook her head, turned back to Deteca.

"Thank you so much for your offer."

I accept. The words were there, so easy, just two of them. She could accept and then she had a place to stay, until she had something of her own again. Althea would organize something, but if she found something on her own. Could she accept? Deteca was like Althea, just a different guild. She couldn't stay at the house of another guild leader's parents. It would fall back on Althea, on her own guild. And there was no way, that she would betray Althea.

"I am not sure, if I can accept."

She admitted truthfully. It could be trap. But if it was, she would be able to flee easily. And if Deteca had wanted to kill her, or to kidnap her for questionen. She had plenty of opportunity in the tunnels.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Sorana

[AonEne he/him]

“That’s fine,” Deteca said, eyes still on the trio of DA leaders. So many people thought of them as gods. Did she? It was hard to say. “It’s completely up to you. I understand that you might not want to live somewhere TUBA-affiliated, even just for a while.” She rubbed her arms, trying to create friction. Were they warming up a little? Maybe. Maybe not. 

@Sorana

Edited August 28, 2019 by AonEne

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

6 hours ago, Sorana said:

The man nodded and they loaded Bella on the strechter.

"We will take her to a safe place and let you know where she is. Or do you want to come along directly?"

"No, just let me know on my personal frequency," Seom said. "My name is in the radio index as 'Seom Bi-blood'. Let me know as soon as she's safe." She liked her Ghostblood name. Her father hadn't had a last name, and she didn't know her mother. But, since she was part Alethi and part Scadrian, she'd asked to be called "Bi-blood". It sounded intimidating and like the name of an assassin, so she figured it suited a Ghostblood agent.

[I think I am here. he/him]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 9:38 PM, Sorana said:

That was a joke? The surprising me part?

Max mentally projected his laughing voice.

Yes. But you identified it, which is really good. An improvement, soon maybe you will be making your own jokes.

---

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 9:38 PM, Sorana said:

"You are not useless. You are no hero, but you will be. We can be. If we don't give up. And I care. I don't want you to die. So stop saying you're useless, and rust and ruin, stop calling me sir."

"Okay," Wes said, looking up from his gun to Mike. There was a tear drop on the gun where Wes had been resting his head.

"Okay... Mike," he winced and looked to Mike with a nervous laugh.

"It's... weird. Not to call you sir. To just say... Mike. Mike, Mike, Mike," he said, trying to get into a habit.