The Final Loop

[eternitymods]

Who: Everyone
When: April 11th - Last Loop
Where: Curti Center, Sen Devadatta
What: Final Loop before the final confrontation against the Empress and Bahamut.
Warnings/Notes: ??????

Comments

Re: Okuyasu Nijimura | OTA

[singerofspells]

"It would be more weird to marry a human with the mind of a hamster, than a hamster with the mind of a human," S'reee noted.

[peace_through_empathy]

The energon isn't poisoned, though given it has been converted from native materials it might not quite be the caliber Starscream is used to.

"And this is better?" Megatron asks before following Starscream's gaze to the clear blue sky above them. "What do you see up there?"

Starscream's comment about annoying Minimus causes him to frown, however. "You waste your talents on such trivial matters, you know. These...pranks and games you insist on playing." He regards the other 'bot out of the corner of his optics. "You could be so much more." He knows it's possible for Starscream to do more, be more than this; he's seen his own universe's rise far higher than anyone would have ever expected him to, Megatron included. "Here especially, where the old factions and grudges are meaningless."

[hatejakku]

... What?

Finn's probably most shocked that the other three are taking this all in stride, but he doesn't outwardly show it. Instead, he glances to the woman and then at the four new arrivals. Now, finally, he knows who they are even if it creates a few more questions.

Most notably, how are they here now?

But he says nothing. Instead, nods toward them in greeting, not sure what to say.

[peace_through_empathy]

Megatron is busy wiping away some juice that got flecked onto the Rodimus Star with a napkin when he hears Minimus behind him, inquiring about it. He takes a quick moment to finish drying it off.

"Something familiar." He says, and then turns and presents the battered, broken, yet gleaming badge bearing the familiar self-satisfied smirk to Minimus. "I found it waiting for me Starlight morning." Many people had received such mysterious gifts he'd discovered...and Megatron couldn't have been happier that the Star was his.

[tiredcharmer]

Tyzias is leaning against one of the hallway's walls, taking a careful sip from a can of beer as she casts a glance at the party... then shrugs, turning back to her drink and taking another sip. Looks like somebody else is sick of the party.

Sephiroth is something of an enigma to her. Keeps to himself, for the most part. Doesn't really seem like the most heroic of individuals despite looking like he was ripped straight out of Tegiri's Eastern Alternian Animations. The fact that he even has Calamity Knight is suspect. The way he seems outright disgusted by the party is odd as well.

But... he also saved all their asses with spreading the vaccine. Tyzias at least owes him a thanks. (And maybe she could get a few answers out of him.)

Her gaze rakes up and down Sephiroth, seeming to pierce into his soul as she studies him. Now Tyzias will pick it up the moment he lies--although he doesn't know that. "...kinda wild to think about, huh?" she begins, eyes casually sliding off Sephiroth and back to her drink. "That this is it. The last time we're going on Ms. Ramaa's Wild Ride."

[bladeofconquest]

Corrin returns the bearhug. "Right? It feels good to be able to celebrate our successes!" As the two detach she looks around them. "The first time this happened it all felt so hopeless. Like even if we had managed to stop Bahamut, the way the rest of the world was...Well. That doesn't matter anymore. Now I just look at how far we've come from there, to this and, gods, it feels good. We've saved everyone that needed saving, and I...I didn't think that sort of thing was possible, to be honest." Serge most likely has a good understanding as to why Corrin would think that. Of course, even that that had only been possible thanks to the time loops, so maybe under normal circumstances it still wasn't, but Corrin will bask in this one time, this one exception to that rule.

She turns to look back at Serge. "I know we've still got one more thing to do, but when this is all over, what are you gonna do with yourself, Serge? We'll all have earned a break for a bit, and we should make the most of it."

[righthandstand]

"Huh. You got a point." It would be creepy, marrying a guy that really wanted to murder everyone or stuff his mouth with sunflower seeds. Was Yoshikage Kira like that when he was pretending to be Kosaku, minus the sunflowers? "But kissin' a hamster's gotta be weird."

[bladeofconquest]

"I know that's what I plan on doing." Corrin replies lightly. "That and finally getting down to some books I haven't had the time or inclination to start in on yet. I've got to make up for lost time!"

"So it's good we're celebrating now. We've got a lot to be glad about, after all." Of course the hardest part is still to come, but the battle ahead of them no longer feels so insurmountable. In fact, their success feels almost inevitable at this point though Corrin is avoiding trying to go that far; overconfidence can be deadly.

Mingle

[bladeofconquest]

Corrin has joined Tyzias in the corner, with a drink of her own though unlike the troll Corrin is still contenting herself with fruit punch.

"I'm certainly not going to miss starting each loop nicking myself in the finger." She replies. "Even when I knew it was coming I could never seem to stop myself in time when everything reset. Gods, that might actually have been the most aggravating part of it for me." Indeed, there's a band-aid wrapped around one of her fingers. "It's put me right off carrots for the time being too."

Her eyes drift over to Sharas, dancing nearby having left Tyzias alone, at least for the time being. Fortunately Corrin got a crash-course in troll quadrants back during the Dream Width expedition so she understands a little about what's going on between the two of them. "Your...kismesis certainly brings out a fire in you." She notes after a moment trying to recall the name for this specific type, which is based on rivalry rather than affection, if she remembers what Tyzias told her about them correctly. "How'd the two of you meet?"

[aerospacecommander]

Megatron's comments sort of hit a nerve, but probably not for the reason he would think. Starscream shifted his gaze back at the former warlord.

"You sound like someone I know," he responded, his optics briefly glancing at the Autobot symbol on Megatron's chest.

But to answer Megatron's other question ...

Starscream gestured towards the sky.

"The sky up there is an illusion created by light reflecting off particles in space. A normal illusion compared to what we saw before but one nonetheless."

That was followed by a bit of a smirk.

[shinrasfinest]

Thankfully, it didn't take Johnas long to dig through a few pockets and produce the particular item he'd been bid to retrieve. Clenching his hand around the clear blue crystal as he looked with some measure of intensity over Naoto as she mentioned past lives, but ended up dismissing it with a shrug as he looked briefly between the others.

"Hmph. Seems fairly absurd to me, that a peculiar pebble from the bottom of a pond in Nakagawa might have any bearing on saving the world." Johnas opened his hand and peered down at the item; clear but deep blue, like an ocean, the rounded side of crystals' meteor-shape nested almost perfectly in the very center of his palm. The pointed tails; one with more than a notable chip, protruded out towards his thumb.

"Seems it was already damaged a little."

[koopacrusher]

Bowser watched, confused as the moogle shouted at him and sped away.

"Yeah, I guess some relaxing and sleep'd be good. This has been... something. And don't worry about the General thing, I was happy to help."

Bowser hesitates for a moment. "Though, I was thinking about doing something after time went back to normal, starting a newspaper company, to y'know, tell people about what happened at the castle where the summoning happened, and the weird time stuff that happened afterward." And advance Bowser's Evil Master Plan, but best not mention that. "If I got enough people on board it could give a way for the Heroes of Light to communicate with Vaikuntha so we don't get another thing like the fallen cult incident and really make sure nothing like this whole deal ever happens again."

[neverbeamemory]

Serge's particular brand of protagonist pep-talk might have earned him a sharp retort usually - or at the very least an eye-roll at Sephiroth's current level of thinned patience. But it seemed that even the energy that would have fueled such a response was running on empty. Nor could the silver-haired man really argue with the fact that indeed there might well be an actual tomorrow this time.

Sephiroth offers the slightest tip of his bangs towards Serge, a silent agreement.

"Til the battlefield then, where we will see this through."

[masqueraid]

Ren has to give pause at Naoto's statement, past lives? The cogs of his mind were silently turning, wondering if these four really could be... But almost immediately, as Sakuya produced that butterfly-shaped crystal— something seemed to resonate within him. A flash of something, a memory? But.... why should he be thinking of the interrogation now of all times?

Almost instinctively he reached for that one in particular, but stopped himself mid-way, glancing first at Sakuya himself— then towards their sensei. Should he... be taking this? Was she serious?

"These crystals... are the key?"

[dolente]

"Huh? Past lives?" Maria's face seemed to screw up in confusion at that very peculiar statement, then shook her head as though to dismiss the very notion. She knew about the heroes of light, had looked up to them even!

"I think you've got the wrong idea, I just came to deliver this," and from the bag at her side, she unwrapped the egg-like, shimmering blue crystal, with a smile as she presented it to the group.

"But wow! The legendary Eidolons! You guys are serious? I mean I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from the great Heroes of Light, right? Oh yeah— I'm Maria!" she probably should have mentioned that before, shouldn't she have? As somewhere in the cosmos, an ironic rendition of Ave Maria played...

[tiredcharmer]

Good news, Starscream! Your latest annoyance isn't a human. Granted, it's organic, but you should probably take what you should get in this instance. After all, your only other options for Cybertronian company are Minimus Tightass and the wimpy Megatron.

Tyzias saunters onto the balcony, hands jammed deep into her pockets. Sweet Sufferer, Sharas was being so fuckin' annoying that if Tyzias had to spend another minute near her, she would cause an absolute scene on the dance floor with the inevitable hate makeout. She doesn't even know how any human-adjacent being could have such an intricate understanding of pitch romantic dynamics. Fuck, Tyzias doesn't even know a spades pail from a hearts pail compared to Sharas.

Gog, Tyzias hates her kismesis so much.

Still simmering, Tyzias leans against the railing, grinding her teeth as she attempts to calm down by staring at the sky. That's when she notices who she's sharing the balcony with. Ah, yes. Him.

Tyzias was curious about Starscream. There was clearly history between him and Megatron, but considering how sometimes she wanted to toss the other Cybertronian off an airship, she has no idea what kind of relationship they have. Tyzias studies Starscream to get a better read on him so she can tell whether he's lying, then says bluntly, "So you're the one who kept murdering Megatron during the loops."

[neverbeamemory]

He's only just made it outside into the hallway and just being away from the festivities in there seems to have delivered a brief reprieve to the first tingles of what could be an exhaustion-migraine coming on. He's done it to himself a few times, before in those first weeks in existence on Vaikuntha; or so he remembers Jennifer informing him so.

Yet, no matter how hollowed out he might be feeling right now off the back of that stunt with Calamity Knight, Sephiroth's sharp self-preservative instinct quickly perks his attention to the fact he's being watched - and it's apparent as soon as he spots Tyzias that she's putting no small effort into inspecting him. Much like the same way he studied her one time aboard a spaceship to the Rift.

As she casually looks away, he follows that gaze to her drink as well. Hardly seems appropriate, catching a beer at a time like this when the mission is yet to be completed. At the same time, Sephiroth finds himself wondering if taking a hard drink and crashing for a few hours might actually sort him out for the battle later.

"Indeed. The concept of a tomorrow after today hasn't exactly been a priority for a while."

[aerospacecommander]

"That was one time," Starscream turns sharply at the sound of the voice and probably would have said more but got slightly distracted by her appearance.

Though that was mostly just scientific curiosity.

"Besides, technically since time keeps repeating it doesn't count." No matter what Minimus thought. "And he'd just keep coming back anyway and making my life difficult."

No matter what world he's in. No matter how many times he does it. Megatron always seems to come back. Starscream often wondered if it was some sort of cosmic joke against him.

[einspine]

Gasp. That certainly is a big, imposing, and spiky figure... in stylish clothes! Clearly a monster of class and good taste!

Which is exactly why there is an eager skeleton rushing over for a closer look.

"NYEH HEH HEH!!! I SEE YOU'RE WELL DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SALUTE YOU!"

Pail

[einspine]

That is... very tense. So tense, in fact, that Papyrus toddles closer with the intent to mediate. Despite not knowing Tyzias that well and not knowing the other at all. They're getting so... vocal? Hostile? Yet there's a funny look in their eyes.

He clears his nonexistent throat before speaking. "SO! IS EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT?"

OTA | [AU] Papyrus

[einspine]

Papyrus is gushing tears out of two big, googly eyes as the reality of the situation sets in. A marriage! Wedding! True love conquering all despite the danger looming on the horizon! He's clad in a stylish black suit with a flame patterned collar as well as his typical goggles and a fancy hat provided by Kanji.

But if anyone gives him a funny look, he shouts, "I'M NOT CRYING!!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MERELY HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYES."

It's totally a flimsy excuse, though. And some may wonder how a skeleton can even produce tears in the first place.

Though when he's not being overly sentimental, he can be spotted mingling and greeting both friends and strangers alike with big, skelton grins and hearty nyeh heh hehs.

"CHEERS, MY FRIENDS! FOR WE'VE TRIUMPHED! WE'VE OVERCOME THE CUMBERSOME TIMEY LOOPY BUSINESS FOR THE GOOD OF ALL! NO MORE REPEATING THE SAME DAYS FOR MONTHS ON END. WE. ARE. HEROIC!!!"

Except they haven't beaten Bahamut yet.

[koopacrusher]

"Well, what can I say? We're celebrating, we're almost out of this whole world destruction loop thing, and someone's marring what for some reason is one of the most frightening creatures on this planet. I gotta dress up for that," Bowser responds.

[whirluendo_of_puns]

It sounded like the other three didn't remember. They must have been growing up as ordinary citizens of Vaikuntha all this time, completely unaware of who they'd once been. Just like Sylvarie...

Uendo's expression softened into a gentle smile as he gave Sylvarie a small nod. He could guess at what she was thinking -- and how scary this was. Realizing you weren't who you thought you were... That was something he could understand all too well.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that Vaikuntha has become a very precious place to us offworlders as well." He, too, gave the natives a respectful bow. "When we were taken from our homes, the citizens of this world took us in and offered a hand of friendship. Please allow us to repay the favor."

[einspine]

"INDEED! TRULY, IT IS A MOMENTOUS OCCASION ON MULTIPLE FRONTS!" Love. Certain victory. Triumph against all odds. He's beaming at the thought, though his grin wavers when a realization hits. "DRAT!!! I SHOULD'VE BROUGHT A CUSTOMARY WEDDING PUZZLE FOR THE OCCASION! WITH EXTRA SPIKES! IN THE SHAPE OF A HEART!!!"

[mech_and_mutt]

Red pauses in mid-bite of hors d'oeuvres, and somehow avoids a spit-take in favor of an agitated leer over toward Okuyasu.

"So what if they're different species?! They love each other!"

It wasn't like he didn't miss his date, either.