WEEK 13 - I can't lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies.

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (13)

sunday (41) survivors Something in the air breaks, shattering from deep within space itself - and to accompany that sensation is a psychic scream. The ship shakes, coming to a screeching halt as a bright light explodes outside it. It pulses, not unlike a heartbeat, that crawls and crawls along at a slow, grueling pace. The last illusion has been broken, the last mental tie severed and crushed. You've done well up until now, and you can reap the benefits of Her labor; the dead walk among you, after all, and as Her scream rings out, a burst of energy shoots through the residents of the Pygmalion. It's clearly a desperate bid, but it doesn't root itself in place. Instead, you feel lighter than ever - Her attempt to claim you has only unraveled the string that kept you in place. The 40% limit has been lifted, and you are at full capacity. The chains have been broken. Go freely, heroes. taken list profiles private conversations setting rulebook ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

[al2955]

[ The datapads vibrate, but Furry Passing doesn't auto open. In fact, attempting to open the game would show it's stuck in a loading screen. However, it seems that an emergency ship wide message has been issued - it pops up much in the same way a text message on a cellphone would. ]

We're not out of the woods yet, gang.
Cockpit's unlocked. Get us past her - you've got her weak enough that she can't follow, but as long as we're in front of her, we can't do anything. But she's got us stalled, and without a pilot, we're all doomed to stare up at a Eldritch Abomination's ugly eye until we run out of power.

God speed, soldiers.
You're one hell of a crew, I'll give you that. Even if you forgot to fix the conference room door during an alien trial.
-- CPT. PERKINS

SPACE ROADTRIP NAP

[al2955]

[ Who wants to pile into the empty pods in the Electric Sheep room to take a nap? Everyone, probably. For the time being, this is a viable option. Hopefully the people piloting don't make this a bumpy ride, there's no seat belts in these things. ]

[deformity]

[ Five Cradles and a Nightmare is too much on Allen's poor soul -- that, and he hasn't truly slept in forever. He's slumped over in a corner; forget the pods, he doesn't want to risk forgetting everything again. He's pulled some sheets from within them over to his nice corner, so he's comfortable enough.

Anyone is free to join him if they prefer! Or wake him if any fighting is happening. ]

[jackhole]

[ okay here's rhys. he has a piece of gauze taped over to his eye because walking around pupiless is kind of creepy. another piece is taped over his temple because the whole hole in your head thing, also creepy. he's missing an arm though and he is taking GREAT ADVANTAGE of that fact by stealing a bunch of pillows and blankets from the pods and making himself a motherfucking nest in the corner.

fuck all y'all, he's napping. because otherwise he'd be puking. since, uh, he doesn't do so well with space travel. you can come join him in his mound of pillows if you'd like but there's 99% chance he'll tell you to fuck off if he thinks you're a shithole.

(he thinks everyone is a shithole.) ]

[tacklefordwhimsy]

[Shelley doesn't want a nap. Her body napped for weeks, she isn't wanting to go back to doing that yet.

That's why she's sitting near the entrance, acting as a guard. Feel free to bother her if you wish]

DRONES

[al2955]

[ There's a rumble within the ship's machinery. All of it seems to shake violently, as if something beneath it is rushing to the surface, trying to break through. The vents groan with life and there's the sound of skittering that seems to drag on and on and on. There's seemingly no end to it. The noise sounds more and more alive as it continues, as if growing into some kind of taunt in and of itself. Scritch, scritch, scritch...

And then the first drone appears.

It flops uselessly out of the vents, landing with a disgustingly organic splat!, and despite the noise, it begins to skitter closer and closer... It's the same kind of creature that had crawled out of Fiona's mouth during week 11 a cockroach made of flesh and carapace. Then suddenly, with a metallic burst, thousands of the creatures are filtering out of vents, bursting through the floors, crawling on the walls and ceilings.

As if it couldn't get worse, some of them bulge and grow to the size of a man, standing on two legs.

Music plays from the speakers. ]

[qundercover]

[What is this music. This is not dad music. Bull is undecided if he is a fan or not, to be honest.

At least, all things considered, it is nice to be reunited with a weapon again because that was truly the worst part of being dead. Because he can't resist one final fight and chance to spout off a . . . cool one liner as they fly through the alien queen. Fuck you, space.]

You ready to exterminate?

let me barbossa judar

[bloodteller]

[ there comes a point in a fight where you start to wonder: how worth it is this? how much should you be bothering about your own safety? at what point should you stop caring for your own future? it really seems like there's no end to the turtle-slash-cockroach aliens; the point i'm getting at is that yuno's getting exasperated and stressed out. it's been a constant since week six, worrying about these things, and worrying about her own well being. she's done. it's time to just - ]

He-- Hey! Listen up!

[ is she floating midair because fuck being on the ground when there's thousands upon thousands of gross, nasty alien cockroaches crawling around? yes. of course she is. she has no limits on her now, she might as well use them. ...she's still opted for the machete as her weapon, though. ]

Dave, remember what you said to me? Back in my Cradle? Let's do it now! Judar? Can you hear me?

[ also, like. she is yelling this. there's no shame when she shouts: ] Can you marry me and Dave right now? Right now?

[ and then she nonchalantly swings the machete down to cut through a wave of drones. because of course she does. ]

QUESTIONABLE PILOTING

[antagonize]

[Did someone call for a pilot? Because that was... probably a mistake. Yes. It was a huge mistake. If you're asking yourself how such a thing could be a mistake, then you won't have to wait for long. Take a look inside the recently unlocked command center, and you will find not one, but two teenagers. Specifically, Clover and Jason. Light isn't far off because he's never allowed out of Clover's sight ever again, some level of exasperated by this mistake but probably not as much as he ought to be??

Both of the destructoteens seem to be getting acquainted with the equipment, however. This can only end well.]

Ooh, what's…omigosh. [And it's at this moment that everybody who doesn't come see this mistake for themselves learns exactly what kind of terror is about to be unleashed, because Clover has found the PA system, and she's waving Jason over and beaming as her voice rings out on the ship.] Attention, Pygmalion! This is your newly-appointed co-captain speaking.

[Oh god. This is a mistake and we are all going to die but when was the last time we heard Clover sound this sincerely happy? Not in a very long time, probably. Jason is dutifully joining her over by the PA system, shit eating grin already in place as he gets ready to make this as (un)pleasant an experience as possible.]

And this is your other newly-appointed co-captain speaking. We suggest you buckle up, travelers, because we're in for one hell of a bumpy ride. Please be sure to keep your screaming and crying to a minimum. If you feel the need to rue the day your captains were born, you can start a queue by the door.

Emergency exits are located absolutely nowhere, so please, sit back and enjoy the ride. Captains Field and Todd, signing omigosh Jason look what I found—

[That may or may not be the least reassuring thing to have ever been uttered, but there we go. Once the "announcement" is done, the ship will be treated to several great musical hits to add ambiance to their experience.]

[al2955]

[ The cockpit itself isn't incredibly remarkable. It's dark, but the buttons and doodads are lit up with a bright, cyan backlight, so it is very easy to see. Before the two of them stares the Queen's gigantic, horrific eyeball, unblinking and aware. There's two seats; one for Jason and one for Clover, with plenty of room for at least two other people to join them in the back, though there aren't seats provided for them. The walls are also lined with mysterious buttons, but they probably don't want to push those. There's several screens in front of Clover and Jason, and one large screen up top, above the window, that displays several rooms on the Pygmalion at the moment. Each of the feeds are up and running, and it's easy to flick through them. There's also a speaker that can't be turned off at their leisure, where they'll be able to hear whatever it is that people shout back at them. Because of course the new co-captains got to field any complaints about their driving skills. The other screens are exactly what you expect them to be, and they're displaying a big, blinking red ping in front of the dot marked "PYGMALION." Not surprising.

There's two metal hooks on either side of one of the chairs - this one is used to steer. On the other chair is a a stick, hopefully one of them is good at either holding things at full throttle or fighting back against resistance, because this controls the speed. In case of emergency, there's a pair of similar metal hooks on this chair's arms, too, and an emergency speed control button on the other chair's control panel.

What I'm saying is, this is going to be bumpier than anyone expected, because they're going to need to coordinate to some extent. ]

[douchemag]

[Judar probably should be out fighting the drones, but...nah they're a bunch of gross bugs, that sounds like a super boring waste of time to him? Let the other kids handle it. So instead he's hanging out here instead, eyeing the equipment curiously and trying to press one of the buttons on the wall every time the destructoteens' backs are turned.

You know that shitty cat that slaps everything off the table the second you put it in front of him? Yeah, that's basically him right now.]

Hey, you think if we set the outside of the ship on fire, we can roast the bitch's eyeball from the inside out?

[monsieurchatastrophe]

[you know, he has been avoiding everyone and everything rather aggressively, and he normally wouldn't complain about this, either, except he is sick and tired of being thrown around. physically. i mean, emotionally too, but that's not relevant. so he is going to pop up at one point:]

Do either of you even know how to fly this thing?

[it's like 10% bite which is the most you can probably get out of him now. congrats. you done it. he has anger again!!!!!! that's a victory right]

[erythristic]

[they're free. that bond around her heart was gone. there aren't words to describe the energy that comes rushing back into her bones, a waterfall crashing over, and the sense that things are going to knit back together at the proper pace. it was worth it for that alone - they were going to be alright.

but given everything that occurred, while there's space enough to have a moment between new horrors (no, Jason and Clover's driving doesn't count), the fact remains that the dead have returned. that others have survived as well. and if they went through anything like what she did...then she isn't confident about what state they'll be in.

so whether people are napping, trying to take shelter from the bumpy space ride, or really just Done with this whole endeavor, Grell seeks them out, keeping a mental checklist of who she's seen. to the injured, she offers aid, to friends, a relieved smile. despite personal relationships right now, it's...good to see everyone alive.]

[mnasthai]

[ Kazuma is around, eventually. He looks pretty healthy unlike last time with the whole dropping dead almost immediately, and he's mostly just pretty happy to have more things to do than Furry Passing.

He stops awkwardly when he spots Grell, and he looks both happy and a little flustered upon seeing her. He's still not really good with emotions.]

Miss Grell...!!

parlour

[baptizer]

[ Okay, there's a big irony in this.

There has to be. With all the shit going down, even with how physically weak she had become since revival and how much relied on her - she is calming her nerves. At 100% power, she needs to relax. After 13 weeks of dealing with bullshit, Elizabeth requests to be guided to the parlour where she can sit down at a small coffee table and pour herself a glass of wine.

And fucking chug it because this is too much.

She won't get drunk, but she is definitely enjoying a big chilled glass of wine before their inevitable deaths or her - no, ... well, that's to come later. :) ]

[qundercover]

[Bull's version of a glass is. An entire bottle. So simply raising that to her health as she chugs it.]

Think you're supposed to toast before downing the first one of the evening.

viewport; dorian and bull

[tevinteriscoming]

[After all of the illusions and nightmares, Dorian needs a break. He's back in his quarters for a while, but comes out to the viewport in order to get a little work done - he's sitting in there, working in a notebook sketching out some complicated runes and what look like magical equations over a cup of tea, watching the progress of the ship. Of course, Bull is in there with him, waiting with him while he puts the finishing touches on what's shaping up to be a more complex time manipulation spell than he's ever attempted.

Still, though it's quiet in there, the door is open; you're welcome to come in for a talk.]

[OOC: Please specify whether you would like Dorian, Bull, or both.]

Dorian!

[thanatosincarnate]

{ Perhaps it should surprise anyone little that Arumat would not bother to knock on the door. Well, then again, it was open, and in a way that was one way to beckon entry. In the end, he's obviously decided to come right on in, for a 'talk', for his own reasons.

His eyes quickly sweep the room out of habit of observing his surroundings, and his expression is cool. His attention and words are next focused on Dorian, rather than the other present. }

... Always hard at work, aren't you?

EVENT

[al2955]

INCOMING MESSAGE from DR. LIN

[ The datapads vibrate, again, and this time - it's Sunny coming through. ]

avagu bs Abirzore 1913 – avargrragu bs Wnahnel 2000
>INPUT PASSWORD?

[ There's an empty space in which to type the password once you figure it out, and it looks like it'll take at least two people to type it in. ]

[muties]

[ as a hacker you'd think roxy would put some effort into this but instead ]

>assntitties

[qundercover]

[Bull is being gross and publically just repeatedly hitting Cremisius Aclassi on the "Contact Passenger" list. He will pick up and he doesn't care if anyone else has to listen to this bullshit.]

Krem, get your ass over here and pick up. You're going slack on your training. Should have way faster reflexes than this.

[kremofthecrop]

[Okay, well. He's trying to accept your call but every time he does that it starts a new one??? You idiot? But finally getting through!!]

Reflexes are fine, it's my constitution that needs a breather if I'm getting a screen full of your ugly mug, Chief!

[baptizer]

[ There is absolutely no way she won't be connecting with Booker DeWitt. After an emotional moment a few days ago, Elizabeth never thought this day would come, so when the video picks up, she's publically accessing this message: ]

Booker?! Mr. DeWitt -?! Are you there? Please let this work...

[herds]

[ Elizabeth'll actually have a bit of trouble getting in contact with Booker, namely because he was trying to do the same damn thing for her. he had to deal with rejoining the world of the living, but upon first notice of finding out that she was able to be reached, you best believe he was trying to get in contact with her.

after a few failed attempts had frustrated him enough to bend his datapad and crack it on the side, Elizabeth's face and voice had been summoned and he let out an immense sigh of relief. she will see his own in return, this time with an actual background and a much more exasperated look than the one she had just talked to a few days ago. ]

Elizabeth!? Elizabeth! I'm getting this. You better be able to hear me too, I swear to―

[ he's riled up right now, but by no means angry at her. just give him a bit of time to be happy that he was seeing her again. ]

[thanatosincarnate]

{ ... Okay guess what. Arumat's going to be using the thing to get in contact with a certain Captain. He definitely selected Edge's name off of the skype-like format via that 'Passenger List'. }

You better answer me. Now.

{ Sorry Edge, he's not mincing words. }

[goodscout]

[ Edge is a nice guy. Really! And if anyone heard anything about Edge from Arumat during their stay on the Pygmalion, they've got to be expecting Edge to get on the line and verbally embrace Arumat. Because.

He's a nice guy. He's sentimental, he's caring, he put that mojo flask in Arumat's room, and right now he's looking at Arumat with the same professional gaze he focuses on Shimada. ]

Oh? "Now" is an awfully relative term Arumat P. Thanatos, Captain of the 13th Independent Armored Division. What would you do if your "now" and my "now" aren't working parallel to each other?

[ Obviously they are so this is a dumb question. He drops his "official" attitude (which is less official and more officially difficult) and grins at the screen. ] But, I have to admit. It is nice to see you. Even now, death really can't keep up with you, can it?

time to publically embarrass jason todd

[batsuits]

[ hey, folks. there's a group chat now open on the skype program and a stranger's voice coming in because he is the fussiest dad in the god damn world. usually he might be a bit more private than this but needs must, as it goes. he's going to try to be a bit more optimistic here, maybe.

but to be fair to bruce, jason was being a butt. ]

Hi. My name's Bruce and I'm a passenger over on the Nuwa. If anyone hearing this could point Jason at his datapad to talk to me, that would be a great help. I know he might be driving the ship right now? But I really need to talk to him, so surely someone else could provide Jason with a quick moment to talk. He's... my son and I just need to talk to him for a second.

[ a pause and a little quieter now. ]

Please. It would mean a lot.

[antagonize]

[AND THROUGH THE PA SYSTEM:]

This is your captain speaking. Anyone who points me at my datapad will lose their hand. Or, y'know, hands if you want to stay symmetrical.

That is all.

u all need jesus but instead all u have is the therapy seer

[grimdeity]

[ in the group chat, a girl's voice. she sounds pretentious. ]

My name is Rose Lalonde, aboard the Nuwa. Consider me your new therapist, Pygmalions. If anyone would like to discuss the horrific trauma they've endured or their daddy issues [ JASON TODD ], please feel free to contact me.

[ pause. ]

Also, please chuck a datapad at my dear brother Dave Strider. Thank you.

[bloodteller]

[ how about MOMMY ISSUES? yuno's absolutely slamming into this, like. as soon as rose says "thank you" she's already excitedly responding. ]

No way! Dave's my husband! I'd never hurt him!

[ ??? sorry ]

Hi! I met a version of you already, but the real one sounds a lot prettier. ...Nicer! [ she's having an explosion of gay tonight, apparently ]

[wises]

[ while it's possible to spot a blonde in the back of some of the transmissions, annabeth mostly doesn't bother to skype - though she will if you say something to her as she's passing through, eyes locked on her tablet as she scrolls through something or another.

a little while after the nuwa transmissions are open, however, a paint chat option will pop up. annabeth has had all the time since their game ended to fuck around with the tablets. coding can be a little like weaving - if it's a useful outcome, her hands tend to do what they want and it tends to work out. athena's kids don't have a ton of flashy powers, but what they do have is useful.

so. it's a paint-chat coded solely so she could keep her notes on her tablet, originally, but now used for the following purpose:

text written out in a mostly neat hand in ancient greek. so you're kind of shit out of luck if you can't read that, but given that she's trying to contact one person in particular, annabeth isn't bothered by the details. ]

Your dagger fell into Tartarus. It was Arachne's fault.

[ that more or less functions as "hello" for a girl who'd once tried to murder luke a bit with a hammer at their first meeting and who had once told percy jackson he drooled in his sleep rather than, like, praising him. it should make luke respond. it should make luke respond enough she can have a better gauge for whether or not this is a trick or actually legitimately luke.

if you can read ancient greek and aren't luke castellan you can reply to that. or. you can flag annabeth down if you see her passing by through skype. or, you know, try to write at her in english and she'll respond in kind, but more slowly. ]

[chiseler]

[Truthfully, the moment Nuwa transmissions opened Luke started freaking out just a little. It wasn't his usual freaking out where he was yelling and probably threatening to knock over chairs because he didn't have words. This was a freaking out that left him oddly silent as he watched the way people latched onto the communication hub and began conversing with people on the other ship. You'd think that Luke would jump at the chance...

...but no. He sits back and he stares at the tablet in his hand as he thinks. He could talk to Annabeth now, but what the hell would he even say to her? He's mulling over that option and there are one or two people left on this ship he might actually confide that fear to but otherwise he keeps to himself.

After a while though, he doesn't get a choice. There's a message that pops up and he blinks at it. He reads it once, and then twice, and then a third time as things fall into place. First of all, he can read the message clearly without even struggling as it's written in a language he can easily read. Second of all, Annabeth mentions the dagger and that's enough to pique his curiosity. But third of all, that dagger's now apparently gone and he frowns heavily. There's a brief moment as he figures out how to activate the paint chat on his own tablet via Annabeth's message, but soon enough there's one back also written in ancient greek.]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN
WHY WERE YOU IN TARTARUS?
HOW DID ARACHNE
??????

[There's a few incoherent scribbles that appear to be Luke expressing some of his confusion and frustration, but eventually he writes again.]

Explanation? [Perhaps most people would say "are you okay?" but Luke is not most people and he knows Annabeth. She wouldn't let herself not be okay. (And of course this is much, much easier than the awkward questions that'll surely come later)]

NUWA REUNION

[al2955]

[ Shortly after communications with Nuwa are established, the copilots will shoot right through the Queen's pupil. As they do, the whole ship will experience the effects of Her presence - visions of potential futures that they're leaving behind will flood every resident of the Pygmalion's brains. Becoming a host for a parasite, being wrapped in Her unconditional love, She shares with them the future they are depriving themselves of. A colony of aliens, all strong, all beloved, cared for and mourned when they pass.

The drones rot away. They die, leaving liquified entrails behind, the carapace left behind in the alien stew. There's one final push, as if the ship is launched right out of the Queen's eyeball, and then -

There's nothing but silence.

She's gone. Aside from the mess, there's no sign of her presence, and no one has died. There's 41 residents on the Pygmalion, and after several moments of resounding silence, a song filters in from the speakers. As it does, the datapads vibrate again. ]

INCOMING MESSAGE from DR. LIN
1 IMG FILE ATTACHMENT

[ The metal walls of the ship raise, folding into the ceiling. They give way to ceiling to floor windows, and everyone will be able to peer out into the dark expanse of space, full of stars, distant planets, and asteroids. It goes on forever, and it is... peaceful, for once. There's no looming darkness in the ship, and the Pygmalion will close the distance between it and a strange form. As it floats closer, it becomes clear what you're all looking at:

The Nuwa.

It seems to be docked, unmoving and waiting. Nuwa residents will be aware that they've been docked since the moment Dr. Lin delivered the news that the Pygmalion broke free, finally, after nearly fourteen weeks of struggling against the infection of the alien parasites, and hours of fighting back against the Queen's psychic attack. They'll watch, too, as The Pygmalion floats into view, trucking along at a slow, but steady pace. It's clearly nearly out of juice, but the robots on the Nuwa are on standby and ready to get to work to repair the ship.

And while another song begins to play, The Pygmalion docks next to the Nuwa. The image of Dr. Lin comes together, the clouds shaping into her form. Over Daft Punk, she speaks. ]

Damn, I had ten to one odds we wouldn't ever been seeing you again. Welcome, Pygmalion, you crazy sons of bitches.

[A bridge between the two ships extends. Looks like you can finally see your friends again.]

[socloverit]

[And here comes one of the poorly-chosen captains of the fuckup ship, stumbling her way down the bridge, dizzy and exhausted; the definite only reason Clover has not fallen onto her ass like ten times over is that her blind brother's reflexes are better than hers and he keeps catching her because the Field siblings are never being separated ever again. The bullet scars on her arms definitely weren't there the last time her Nuwa friends saw her in person, she has only bled a little bit through the bandages around her stomach, when was the last goddamn time she brushed her hair or slept or made any active effort to take care of herself the answer is months and it shows, she's still carrying around the meat cleaver?? The speed control lever has broken off in her hand and she's still holding it good fucking god, Clover is making one hell of a first impression on the rest of the Nuwa here.

She's laughing through the last of the adrenaline, quiet and breathless and tired and slight and manic and maybe not entirely there, working really hard at regaining her balance and frankly doing a shit job. She lurches forward like she means to start running and ends up just needing to be steadied again but she does, at least, have the energy in her to yell.] Alice!

[SHE'S COMING!!!! no she's not she can barely stand just. give her a minute. and then a few more minutes to deal with Junpei]

second star to the right

[baptizer]

[ It seems like things were coming closer and closer to end. Reunions happened. People cried. People were definitely punched or screamed at.

Off on the bridge of the Nuwa, a select few people were gathered. Elizabeth had slept the entirety of the trip (yes even through the eyeball and Jason Todd's horrible parking job in the Nuwa's docking bay). She rested and with her bones less achey, she knows it's getting closer and closer.

Yuno was here and she was holding her hand tightly, balling it closely with a nervous twitch. ]

I'm certain this will work - I just... I'm just not sure how well this new body can perform. [ A tired laugh, but for the most part, she seems optimistic. ] Dorian, I have faith in you. If you can't - if I can't be helped, please help Yuno. Keep her alright.

[ She's sure there's going to be a scorn from Booker who was pacing off back and forth. It's realistic, though. The chattering of drones off in the distant room barely catch her attention. It was pretty much only the beating of her heart. ]

The others - they can handle finding the right worlds, but... catch a wide enough net and you're bound to catch a fish, right? I'll open the tears out into space, Dave and Rose can venture out and recognize the "right" ones. I believe that's... all we can do.

[ She's scared. Ripping open tears of that variety - it's going to drain her but she knows there's absolutely no way she can let the small group of people down. The three options Lin provided with were... they weren't ideal. This allowed people to go back - return to what they had.

So... Elizabeth has faith in the powered individuals in the room - Dorian, Bull, Dave, Rose, Yuno, Booker. Wonder why there's an idle song beginning to play on the sound speakers...? ]

...Are we ready?

GOD TIERS

[baptizer]

[ After the process begins, Dave and Rose will find outside of the Nuwa ship a collection of - well, silver and static rips. There's an insane amount, nearly hundreds or thousands that flicker on and off - closing and re-opening. Each one was a different time and world and upon creation, they change. Dave can see one opening in reality show a bomb going off and another of an 'H' shaped satellite in space. They're on the clock and with Rose's guidance, should be able to distinguish which were the "right" worlds. There's infinite possibilities and that's where Dave's powers come in.

So, have fun storming the castle? ]