Other Worlds: V 2.0

[initiates]

Date & Time: May 21st, beginning at 0900.
Location: The Initiative Hold and all throughout Elmer's world
Characters: Anyone participating in the fighting, anyone staying behind.
Summary: Elmer's world is fought for and lost.
Warnings: Violence, death.

They reopen the portal at 0900, May 21st. The first scientist who stepped through was killed within thirty seconds; the rest who followed made it back through to Exsilium, albeit not unscathed. The portal was shut again by a panicked operator, although a second operator knew to keep the coordinates locked.

Within ten minutes, the alert had been sent out. There's no time to wait for the Transports to gather en masse; as soon as they have a sizable enough force to stand a chance at fighting through and clearing their gateway's location, the door is opened again.

Immediately inside the door is a desolate, grim scene. What had previously been the coast of Japan is now scorched earth, blasted sand, and little else. As the first point of contact for this world, it has undoubtedly suffered the worst. Here, the UE didn't stop at governments, financial centers, and capitols — the UE destroyed everything in sight. There are enough UE soldiers remaining in the broken country to give the Transports a difficult battle, although by now the bulk of their forces have moved on.

The Initiative will soon realize the necessity of opening more gateways, just as the UE had done. Transports will be deployed to London, Berlin, Paris, DC Washington, Moscow, Beijing, New York City, Hong Kong, Madrid. Through each of these windows, the destruction is staggering. Buildings are more husks than structures, everything that can burn is alight, and the death toll is off the charts. Blackened bodies seem to line every street, while pieces litter the ground among the rubble. There's no doubt that the UE has no need of the people of this world. They're after resources only, and anything and anyone already here is to be removed.

You can find UE soldiers everywhere. They move in coordinated squadrons of 20, and each of them carries a small arsenal. Even without their incredibly advanced and destructive weaponry, they're fearfully formidable. Each soldier, while still only human, is a genetically perfect clone, further enhanced by technological implants. They're all highly trained in physical combat. Even if you can disarm one of them, don't count on close-range attacks being any easier to handle. They've brought along cannons, small flying craft, and lightweight tanks. Each of these is the top of the line in terms of technology, geared toward destroying as much as it can, as quickly as it can. The United Earth is here to destroy, and they won't stop to wonder why their targets go from being civilians and scrambling, off-guard, comparatively primitive militaries, to trained and powered Transports.

For anyone staying at home, they'll find that any Initiative presence has withdrawn fully to the Hold. All Initiative employees are needed, and most of them in the med bays. The majority of the Initiative focus is on recalling and resurrecting fallen Transports, but attention is still needed for the living-but-wounded. Any Transports who stay in Exsilium and offer their help will have it immediately accepted; they'll be put to work in the medical wings, runnings supplies, or simply set at a machine and told to keep an eye on the numbers: Transport vitals, UE movements, and maps upon maps of changing statistics and colors.

At 1500, the Initiative will recall all Transport soldiers back to Exsilium and seal shut the gateway. The UE numbers are too great, their soldiers too powerful, and Elmer's world is lost.

Comments

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena hasn't seen Riku fight before. It's different and interesting but she doesn't stop to stare. Fighting like that, he's bound to get hurt. He's being reckless.

Not that she's in a position to say such things.

Sheena's been at it for a while. She's covered in scratches and bumps and bruises, and there are smears of blood across her cheeks, her knuckles, her collarbone. As Riku glides effortlessly, Sheena zips from soldier to soldier, disabling them with precise punches and kicks. She spots one taking aim at Riku, and summons a barrage of cards from her sleeves. Whatever magic she does with them causes the guy with the gun to be tossed midair, helpless, and then torn apart.]

Riku! Are you all right?

[When she's finished with her current target, she moves toward her roommate, concerned about the expression on his face. Or lack thereof. He's like a child surveying mass destruction for the first time.

He shouldn't be here.]

[limitstorm]

[ he doesn't notice; when he hears his name he doesn't look back until the soldiers he has his claws in falls.

riku breathes a little harder as he turns to sheena, stepping back a little abruptly, turning slightly away. part of him can still feel the thrum of xehanort deep in his heart, even if he isn't in control--because xehanort is still a shadow in his heart, and there's no getting rid of shadows when you're twilight. shadows are always the longest at sunset.

he shakes his head a few times before; ]

I'm fine.

Just focused.

[ is all he says, as stellaluna reappears and riku finally touches ground, the bat weakly flapping her wings. with a frown, he holds onto her, and keeps her close. he'll rest. ]

See any places for a wait?

[fujibayashi]

[He's intense. It reminds her of someone else she's met. She doesn't ask, just reaches out to gently touch the komory bat, as if touch alone could help revive it.]

Let's fall back to the warehouse for now. I have some gels left over from when I got here; I'll share.

[She scans to make sure they don't have the attention of any of the troops, then turns and waits for Riku to follow. If they can avoid being seen by using the sky for transportation, that's even better. She hops up onto an adjacent roof.]

[limitstorm]

[ he wobbles just for a bit, feeling weary with emotion and exhaustion before he follows sheena. he doesn't think of showing off, not wanting to attract attention. he needs to rest. for stellaluna's sake. a moment passes; ]

Seen Axel? I pulled him in with me.

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena shakes her head.] No, I haven't. But if he can fight half as well as you, he'll be fine for a bit.

[She's starting to wear down, but she can still fight. She's been saving the bulk of her energy for her summons and pushing herself to the limit. It's what she's good at.

The warehouse isn't too far away. It's not quite the gateway, but it's clear for now. Sheena drops down and slips inside, attempting to catch her breath.]

[limitstorm]

He's okay.

[ he thinks of how axel almost caught up with him a few times, and he follows sheena closely, nimble and quick. when she drops down, he takes a glance around before following her. he exhales lowly, closes his eyes, and lets stellaluna just slump against him. ]

You alright? [ he raises his eyes to sheena. ]

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena gives Riku a calm and confident smile, drawing what appears to be wrapped candy out of her pack.]

I'm fine! I just need some mana, that's all. Here, catch.

[She tosses him an apple gel. It's more like a gummie. Except you don't make ships out of it. Same effect as a potion, though. She leans heavily against the wall, unwrapping a lemon gel and downing it quickly. She makes a face at the bitterness.]

It's been a long time since I saw destruction like this.

[limitstorm]

[ he's hesitant when he catches it in between both of his hands, glancing down at it with a quizzical expression before he downs it, just as she does. he makes a face and shakes his head a bit. he doesn't spit it out, though, licking his lips with a quick flick of his tongue afterward and peering up at her.

he looks back away. ]

I never have.

[fujibayashi]

[It's always funny when people try to eat gels without knowing what they taste like. When Genis handed Zelos a seafood gel instead of a healing one by accident-- that was pretty classic.

Back to the problem at hand, though. Riku's never seen this kind of horror before, and he clearly doesn't know how to deal with it.]

... I'm sorry, [she murmurs. There's really no great way to put it. This is awful.] I had a feeling when I saw you fighting back there. Maybe it's none of my business, but if you give into your anger like that? You're more likely to get hurt. It's the tunnel vision.

[She detaches from the wall.]

It's awful out there. I won't tell you to go home, but if you want to leave... there's nothing cowardly about that at all.

[limitstorm]

I'm not leaving.

[ he speaks, sure and full of promise as he raises his eyes. ]

It's not an option. It's my duty to make sure worlds like this are safe. Even if I can't save this world, at least I can fight for it until we're called back.

[fujibayashi]

You're, what, sixteen? Seventeen? It's not just your duty, Riku. [She folds her arms.] You can't take on the universe by yourself. No one's that strong.

I just... [She sighs.] Don't fight alone, okay? Stellaluna can't tell you if you're wide open on your right side. No offense.

[limitstorm]

Seventeen, eighteen if you count the year I spent here. [ he frowns at her, though it lightens slightly. ] Believe me, I know better than to take on the whole universe myself. I'm not planning to, but I know that this is what I'm meant to do, so I can't just leave. I have to see this through.

[ there's a weary hiss from stellaluna at sheena's words, and he half-laughs, looking away. ] Uh... yeah. I know. I'll try not to be alone.

[fujibayashi]

[She watches him for a moment, but lets it go. He's stubborn and it's not like she's his mom or something. She can't tell him to go home.]

If you're sure. [That's the best he can promise, so she takes it. She dusts off her tunic and turns to leave.] Well, it's about time I got back out there.

Sorry, Stellaluna. Watch his back, okay?

[limitstorm]

[ stellaluna gives a light screech of acceptance, as riku silently sits down on an abandoned crate. he'll need a bit of time to calm himself down before he launches back into action. ]

Good luck out there.