EVENT LOG 007 | AFTERMATH

[larkers]

WHO: The Displaced! Plus a surprise.
WHERE: New Beijing, a train, and then New Amsterdam.
WHEN: The tail end of the operation and the two days after: January 26th-28th.
WHAT: Finishing up the operation, hiding out, and going home.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence and unstoppable soldiers. More to be updated as necessary.

> EVENT #007 AFTERMATH LOG

At the turn of midnight in New Beijing, the true risk to this plan comes to light. There was always a chance, always a point of awareness that Cassius wouldn't be able to buy his foot soldiers enough time. He knew that this could go poorly, so he was prepared for just that. He knew that the Displaced would, potentially, treat the UNA soldiers as personal enemies. They showed this face with their foolhardy desperation during the EMP's effects, and given an opportunity to assault a weaker, unexpecting bunch, they wouldn't hold back.

After all, not killing the soldiers hadn't been a suggestion made by Cassius showing some sign that he had a conscience or was worried about the death of citizens. No, killing the soldiers would make his job harder: and it did.

After scrambling the distress call for forty-five minutes, Cassius' efforts finally fail when the base finally gets the word out for reinforcements. Switching gears, Cassius sends along a word to the Displaced still in the base, letting them know that their time is running short. They need to get moving, and the UNA has wisened up to Cassius' tactics with the fabricated terrorist attacks on the other side of the city. If it were just one thing, the UNA may not have turned back, but their installed software quickly began to recognize many of the tactical patterns that Cassius employed: they weren't that different from the ones executed by radicalized Morningstar agents in other cities.

The lack of traffic in the city means the deployed soldiers return swiftly. Unlike the ones at the base, these soldiers are heavily armed and prepared for the worst. Even though Judas is definitely offline by the time they arrive, their systems remain operational for now. After all, Judas wasn't online as it was, as he was isolated from the world on a localized quantum server. The weight of Judas' impact on the UNA and its systems are still up in the air for anyone to guess. It's hard to tell what they might have been using him for, and just what weight his own additions had made on their current operations. What's clear is that these soldiers can still move, act, and attack, and there are hundreds of them rushing back in a steady stream of military might.

For anyone in the base, it's time to move. Being caught here probably will mean the end of the road for everyone involved.

◉ The soldiers who show up are not beatable. They will be working in formation and predicting most of what's coming their way, and given the numbers sent out, they will be unstoppable. Unsurprisingly, the larger the unit, the stronger their ingrained instincts happen to be. Think of these soldiers as the boss battle you can't even beat for an achievement. It's the one where you're meant to lose, if you engage at all.

◉ We're fine with any degree of Judas Hot Potato that goes on in the final stages of the base, and recommend that you all work that out on our event aftermath post.

◉ As for who finally hands Judas off to Cassius, we have sign ups at the aftermath post, too! The person who wins that doesn't need to be the person with the potato in the end; some creative juggling can go down for that stage, too!

◉ Anyone who dies on the base will need to be dragged out and taken to a medi-unit or they will be permadead. We are not asking for anyone to have their characters killed here! Everyone can get out safely and unharmed if they haul ass. Or even if they don't! Maybe they got lucky.

◉ Cassius will be wiping any records of the interlopers, making it so that their existence can't be traced. He'll be covering the surrounding areas of the base for a three mile radius. After that, everyone is on their own: they'd better have a plan of escape.

> LAYING LOW

While Cassius will be covering the immediate area of the base, everyone will want to make sure that they don't appear suspicious as they hit the streets of New Beijing. The best place to hide? The lower levels of the city. Despite the frequent police raids, someone can move through the lower levels until they're close to their hotel. All they need to do is move up once they're just beneath their temporary residence. Discarding any unwanted goods along the way down there probably wouldn't hurt.

For anyone who's been injured by the soldiers or by their fellow Displaced, they'll want to stop and do some quick first aid on themselves. Hitting a hospital or clinic like this is risky. For the dead, it's not as if anyone has any choice, so their pal better cook up a good story for what happened along the way. The good news in all of this is that injuries and all, none of the hotels are likely to ask too many questions. The drones that do the room service aren't sentient, and the people who work the front desks simply aren't paid enough to care.

By 9 AM, all the news beats around the city refer to a series of attacks that rocked UN landmarks. While the attacks on the UN government buildings had the mark of Morningstar radicals from New Prague and New Johannesburg, they are not citing them as the individuals most likely to be culpable for these attacks. There is no information about what happened at the UNA HQ, though it seems unlikely that none of that information would have gotten out during the flurry of hasty exits.

Even so, it's likely a good idea that everyone lays low for the final couple of days in New Beijing. That doesn't mean that everyone needs to say cooped up in their hotels. Still, they'll likely want to be cautious while the city is on high alert for suspicious activity.

As for whoever has Judas, they'll get a message late in the evening of the 26th telling them to meet with one of Cassius' resources in the morning. Cassius won't be up for much conversation when the message comes in. Despite all previous communication, any messages sent to him now will be a dead end.

> YET ANOTHER TRAIN LOG!

Eventually, it's January 28th and everyone will be headed back to New Amsterdam on a train. It feels as if there's almost a lack of closure, as Judas is most likely gone, the devices that were meant to hold him unable to go through customs. Unlike the previous train, this ride will be an non-stop express from New Beijing to New Amsterdam, and will be largely uneventful. The lack of stops along the way makes it impossible for any temporary havoc to break out. Even the Displaced who didn't pick up express tickets will find that their itinerary has been changed. While the more luxurious seats will remain the same and will offer a bed for anyone looking to rest over the long journey, everyone else's upgrade will treat them to neck pillows and thin blankets to help them stay comfortable.

An event-free ride probably won't mean much for the feelings stewing among the Displaced. Everyone is bound to be feeling something after everything that just happened, so there's still a lot of room for tension now that everyone's been crammed in close quarters on a non-stop train ride. Let's just hope it doesn't get too nasty in there!

◉ El will purchase all of the newcomer Displaced tickets for the way back. All of them will be traveling to New Amsterdam for new job opportunities in the wake of the city's losses, and will be directed to make a statement of intent to move to New Amsterdam permanently.

◉ El won't be purchasing that upgrade, though. If anyone thinks it's Cassius' doing, just blame it on Cassius.

◉ Everyone will be arriving in New Amsterdam around 4 PM with varying amounts of jetlag (or trainlag).

◉ Upon arriving, everyone will begin to see garrish advertisements for both Valentine's Day and Carnival.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Thanks for the great event, Larkers! We have a lot planned to spin out of this one, so we hope that you enjoyed what we cooked up here. Our OOC Aftermath Post is live, which is where we'd like you to direct all of your aftermath questions. We also encourage you to discuss any loose ends for the plot and plan anything else out that's needed!

Otherwise, we intended for this to be more of a low key log while everyone continues to thread out the event. Our next log will be up on December 13th featuring our new arrivals, giving everyone some time between now and then!

> NAVIGATION

Comments

JUDAS DROP-OFF

[btryl]

[It's not a nice day.

There's sleet coming down like a mist, making the air heavy. The meeting spot is on the surface of New Beijing, in a surprisingly sparse part of the old wing of the city, where a corner meets an alleyway. It's so early, that the shops up and down the strip haven't opened yet, and aren't even occupied, leaving it to the ghosts rather than anyone among living. Not far is the Temple of Heaven, looming in the background. From above, the large dam holding back the ocean occasionally gives a groan of foreboding.

At 5:05 a.m. a hover car—black with darkened windows—hums to a stop just behind an adjacent building, the driver obscured. Out of the back seat comes a man in a loose-fitting suit and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.]

Ah, you there! Hello, hello. Come on, don't be shy. I've heard so much about you. [he heads over and extends a hand. It's a little dry.] Call me Doctor Grey. I'm a messenger of sorts. An angel, perhaps? Oh, don't mind the irony. [He doesn't give her time to speak.] You're Laura Moon? Cassius says only good things about you, of course. Now, shall we keep this short and sweet? You do have something for me, and we don't have time for suspicion.

[There's a perpetual smile plastered over his features, making his lips seem thin.]

[apathet]

[ It's wet. It's early and it's wet, and with Judas held tight in the pocket of her jacket she almost hopes the weather gets through and corrupts whatever's waiting in the metal under her hand. How she came to have this in her possession is a blur, the upside of being the little woman packing no punch, but she's not all that grateful to be here.

It needs doing. If this is the price for the coin, she'll pay it. People have done worse things to save their own skin.

(Have they?)

The car stops and out climbs the man of the very early hour, and Laura slides out of the slim shelter of the alley to meet him, getting in his line of site, offering herself a lifeline. He talks a lot. Why is it that men who insist on Doctor don't know how to stop running their mouths? No, maybe that's just men. She stands, expression tight and unimpressed, until he's done. When he finally is: ]

We don't have time for suspicion but we have time for a greeting monologue?

[ Jesus Christ. But his long-winded self-introduction has given her time to get a look at him, and all told she doesn't much like what he sees. Judas remains resolutely concealed. ]

You gonna give me some ID?

[ He knows Cassius by name, it's not like AI are free and easy with their existence let alone getting on first name basis, so the chances are he's not here to steal what isn't his to take. But it doesn't feel right to be here and not go back with something to show for it. It's a stall and a quest for profit both, a stab at insurance. ]

silena beauregard ♥ open

[chocolateries]

→ PUMPKIN TIME

[ for the most part, silena steered clear of the una base. she couldn't manage the ingredients for greek fire in this green future, a very disappointing byproduct of environmental initiatives, and she didn't want to risk messing up caroline or anyone else's deals by being near the base when cassius doesn't exactly like her.

but she can't keep herself away towards the end, loitering around the base with her backpack first aid kit and hoping that the whole thing wasn't a bloodbath and her friends and fellow displaced will actually come out of the base. she's all sorts of fidgety but eventually people start to sprint and stumble and trickle out and silena rushes forward to help. ]

Come on, this way. You need to get out of sight.

→ TRAIN TIME

[ she is much less fidgety on the train, settled in her seat and clutching an insulated lunch bag in a pretty shade of blue and patterned with cute little otters. it is obvious where she got her souvenir, which is ostensibly holding her lunch -- although that it actually in her backpack. the lunch box holds the iv drugs she stole from the hotel after she and daisy proved they are definitely the compulsion drugs they were all dosed with upon arrival. this is an important souvenir.

while she isn't fidgety, silena has adhd like most of her siblings and cousins and she gets restless easily, moving through the train with curiosity. she looks in on people she knows and finds an empty seat to press her hands to the glass and watch the landscape zip past them. she is used to the nyc subway system and the lirr, not bullet trains, it's fascinating.

mostly she sits in her seat, munching on chips and caramels that she offers to anyone that looks like they could use a pick me up. ]

Candy?

→ WILDCARD

( do yo thang! hit me up via plurk (baleinette) or disco (baleinette#3692) for plotting or if you want something specific! )

→ TRAIN TIME

[heliophilous]

Well, it's not a brownie but I'll take it.

[ and that's what he does, taking the offered piece of candy and takes a seat across from her, settling in and stretching his legs out into the aisle. ]

Hey. Glad to see you're in one piece.

[ yes, this is a check in. ]

→ pumpkin time

[sestra]

[ helena is in a strange new world with no means of contacting anyone, no means of reorienting herself and getting back on her own feet. connections are gone, money is gone, her sister is gone, so when cassius had offered her a deal for weapons, it wasn't like she had anything to lose, even if he had a traitorous name. ]

[ she knows she's resourceful. that's how she gets out, and with only minor blood spatter. it seemed more pertinent to be sneaky, so she'd tried very hard. broken bones were the only sign of a fight (not hers), and she didn't kill anyone! ]

[ she slinks out of the base and not many people pay her any mind. she could very well keep moving on out of sight, but there is a familiar face and voice almost frantically rushing to and fro with a little first aid kit. ]

[ silena beauregard is a good person. ]

[ helena approaches her cautiously, with her palms open and low. ] Why are you not being out of sight too?

train time

[kleptocratic]

[ Eugenides looks at the caramel and winces, but the pained expression disappears in less than a breath. He'd like some, but eating can be difficult. ]

I think you might have to unwrap it for me.

[ His voice is confident, but not loud, and slightly apologetic. ]

Rey (ota)

[forcevisions]

01. The great escape

[ She's too late.

By the time she gets to the home of Judas's quantum server, the doors are already open, and there's nothing there. Rey plants her hands solidly on the console, crestfallen. ]

No.

[ This isn't how it's supposed to go. The heroes save the day. They don't show up, break out a military AI, and hand it over to the evil AI who had already cost a quarter million lives. The stories don't go like this. Luke Skywalker would have done better than this, she thinks briefly, traitorously.

Then she pounds her fist on the console, a feral growl-snarl of a noise slipping out of her that reminds her and everyone nearby that she's not really entirely socialized to civil society even after the past six months. She gets as far as straightening up, ready with a new idea, when the base alarms get louder.

The UNA's reinforcements have arrived. Her eyes go wide. ]

02. Another train log

[ Rey's work puts her in a comfortable reclining seat on the express train back, and when she discovers that Ben's upgrade didn't afford the same, she's quick to pay out of pocket to move him into the seat beside her anyway.

She isn't doing anything else with her savings, and the pay for a robotics expert is substantial in this day and age.

She's preoccupied on the ride back -- a few nasty bruises, and a generally morose attitude make her distant if not unpleasant to approach, and she mostly keeps to herself. She pointedly affords the silent treatment to anyone who was involved in the Cassius end of things -- or at least, anyone who she KNOWS was involved there -- but to anyone who she's less sure about, she admits her anxieties to after some prolonged reluctance: ] Judas is gone.

03. Wildcard?

[ ooc; dm me if you want something more specific than these! ]

02!

[rehandle]

[ In many ways, he should be grateful it wasn't as bad as his worst predictions. But things not being the worst they can possibly be is seldom a cause for cheer. More has been lost in these past few days than the hope that things might turn out fine.

There's a particular loss that Stephen feels most keenly now, and in comparison the strategical nightmare of whatever may become of the next few months dulls to comfortable background noise. They've survived. Most of them have come through this with nothing worse than injuries that will heal over the comings days and weeks. Most of them are making the journey back.

Which means most are somewhere aboard to be visited and checked in on. Stephen makes that his purpose for the trip, heading slowly up and back along the train with his small pack of supplies to pass a glance over anyone he recognises and to stop in with anybody he really knows. He can see Rey's crestfallen as soon as he comes across her, makes the excuse of checking on her injuries to hang around for long enough that she might have time to confide.

She does. He raises his attention from where it had been focused on a rather nasty bruise. ]

He is.

[ No commitment to an angle yet. First he needs to know what she's really saying. ]

01

[purrsistence]

[ There's a mean laugh from the edges of the room, and Catra steps out from the shadows, standing somewhere high up. Where? I don't know. In the rafters? On top of a closet? I don't know the layout of this room, don't @ me. She's high up. She's a cat. ]

Didn't I tell you already? You're the world's slowest goody-two-shoes. Judas is long gone. You've lost.

wildcard - laying low;

[warfares]

( it's not the first time they've had to lay low in the wake of a disaster. quite the opposite, in fact.

thankfully, the clerk at the check-in counter of the nearest travel hotel has clearly seen stranger than a harried-looking man carrying an unconscious girl over the threshold, paying entirely too much for a room.

getting rey settled is the first priority, checking her over for injuries other than the ugly blossom of bruising taking shape beneath her skin. not for the first time, he wishes he was better equipped for something like this. a healer rather than a soldier. but rey is breathing, at least. her chest rising and falling with little interruption and her pulse steady.

she'll be furious when she wakes, he knows. an anger that would only kindle once it became clear that they had failed in their objective and the world was once again on fire. )

Faith Lehane (open)

[watcherless]

01. 3rd and goal

[ These UNA soldiers aren't like the others. Faith notices it when a team of them drives her back into a supply closet, and she's forced to army crawl through a ventilation shaft. It brings back heartwarming memories of times as the Slayer, of times with Buffy, but now isn't the time for that.

The fact that one had bodychecked her and put her on her ass has her old injuries from Zerzura smarting. They're mostly healed, healed enough, but not fully. She ignores them while she hauls herself through the vents.

It's when she drops out of them that it occurs to her, again, that the fresh wave of UNA soldiers isn't the only problem. There are Displaced here still opposing them. ]

Are you on my team? [ No sense in mincing words, given that she has a drive in her hand. ]

02. A message arrives (closed to previous cr)

[ plans to board a train come with their own set of issues. Faith has a room full of a few stolen UNA weapons from the base that she doesn't much know what to do with. Guns that she thought were fancy. An explosive or two. Flashy things. Things likely to get her what she wants. She looks over them, frowns.

Then she gets in touch with whoever she's met who she knows is into some sketchy shit: ]

How would you move weapons back to NA?

[ Later, after the train has brought them all safely back to New Amsterdam, when Faith gets the burner email -- presumably, Cassius making good -- it occurs to her that she doesn't really have people. This isn't news. She's never had people, except for those few months with Buffy, except for the Mayor, but even then those weren't her people.

So she grapples for a few days, shifts moodily around the safehouse, before settling on who to message to make sense of the news. ]

I don't think the people who made us like this ever planned to let us go.

03. Sleep tight (closed to damian)

[ it's on her way in that she figures out that more than the folks who cut a deal with Cassius are indeed on sight. Faith's used to keeping an eye out on 'friends' who might turn their back. So she notes that some of these familiar faces, some of these Displaced, aren't here to play on the right team after all.

They'd all known it was a possibility.

She dips into a side room and cracks the door so she can watch the hallway, quiet as a mouse, for the first unfamiliar face that comes by. Best to get the jump and deal with this quickly. ]

04. Wildcard?

[ ooc; if you want a closed starter, hit me up on plurk. ]

@clarke.griffin

[strove]

Why do you say that?

[In truth, Clarke has a lot of thoughts about that statement, but she's going to make it so that Faith has to go on. Getting Faith to talk period is a challenge, so she's going to start putting the impetus of that challenge onto Faith.]

clarke griffin | ota

[strove]

[In the shadow of the aftermath, Clarke isn't there. She hasn't been around for any of the trip in New Beijing, and used her time away from the Displaced to: work on the bar she's opening with Stephen, do a lot of homework, and do some actual work for money. She also tried to plan a trip to New Oslo, but quickly learned that she didn't have the booking talents of an AI like Cassius. Sucks, as it turns out.

But she's not one to not check on her friends. When she knows they're arriving, she shows up at the stop, dressed in a pleated winter jacket, but no gloves or scarf.

As she sees someone familiar depart, she'll step forward. For anyone who isn't familiar, she'll stand out as someone who's nodding or familiar with a lot of the Displaced. Clarke's been here a while, and she's just as Tired as Mr. Reads Minds Doctor Strange.]

Hey, it's been a while. Are you—well, are you in one piece? [Things in New Beijing unsurprisingly made it so that things got quieter once they went abroad. She's mostly in the dark.]

[selfimage]

[ ugh, she's walking off the train looking like she pretty much is done with most things. ]

What did you expect? I'm not an in pieces sort of person. [ she strolls off the platform in a dark jacket with a furry collar. she doesn't look injured, just a bit worn around the edges. the energy she puts into her voice seems to even it out—so, she's trying. the small bag over his shoulder gets adjusted. ] Didn't miss me too much, I hope. I have stories.

diana prince | ota

[monomachy]

i. and now you're playing with matches [una base; tw fighting]

[Despite all her training, playing backup is not Diana's strong suit. The front line of battle is where she belongs, where she will one day breathe her last breath. Hanging back and patrolling the barricade around the UNA base is not where she wants to be; rather, it is where she feels she needs to be. They'd gotten in easier than expected--it's getting out that will pose a problem. No matter what powers Cassius says he has, she knows he can't keep the UNA distracted for long. Seconds pass, minutes. Nearly an hour goes by, and Diana feels ready to crawl out of her skin from all this waiting. She nervously turns the scrambler mask in her hands, trying to find a way to calm herself as she seeks any sign that they've succeeded or, worse, that they've failed.

Her keen Amazon ears pick up the sound of dozens of boots pounding against concrete just a few blocks away, and she knows the time for waiting is over.

Diana slips the mask over her face as she bypasses the now-deserted gate, checking the lasso at her hip as she goes. She knows the soldiers are right on her heels, but she needs to find the others before she carves an escape path for them; it'll do no good if the gap closes behind her. She wends her way through the base, focusing on what she can hear, praying to the spirits of her gods that she'll find the displaced first.

She doesn't.

The fight starts in a blur; one moment she's alone, the next she's got her arms up, turning away blows that are stronger than they should be. Her own attacks seem to do next to nothing, though she throws everything she has into them. It only takes her a few moments to realize that she can't win. Whether it's because she's too weak now or they're too strong doesn't even cross her mind before she's ducking around a fleet of hoverjeeps parked nearby, slipping between the rows of cars to buy herself a moment to think. But she hears boots approaching, weapons being drawn and cocked. She also hears a second set of footsteps, distinct from the soldiers', and she swivels to see who's stumbled upon this absolute mess, raising a hand to wave them over to her hiding spot. Her voice is a bare whisper, but steady despite the turn this situation has taken.]

There are three of them about thirty yards away. We can't stay here.

ii. come out of the ashes underneath you [hotel aftermath; tw injuries, blood]

[Diana makes it back to the hotel by the skin of her teeth. The UNA soldiers had not given up the chase until the wee hours of the morning, and she'd had to circle around twice to lose them before finally dragging herself back to the hotel. Luckily, the desk clerk has stepped away for the moment, so there isn't anyone around to see how absolutely exhausted and beat up she looks.

Bruises bloom purple across her arms from the blows she'd blocked, and there's a rod-shaped mark across her cheek from where she hadn't been quick enough to dodge one of the soldiers' baton strikes. Small cuts pepper her palms, and there's a nasty gash just behind her left shoulder. Diana has lamented the loss of her divine powers before today, but never before has she felt the cut of her loss so keenly. She'd been too slow, too weak. She hadn't been enough. Retreat had been the only option, she'd known that going in, but she hadn't expected the rout to be quite so thorough.

For the first time in a long time, Diana feels something it takes her a few seconds to recognize: shame.

She bypasses the lobby, making it to one of the first hallways before she has to lean against the wall. Blood has seeped into the back of her shirt, though she's fairly certain her body has already started to heal; at the very least, she isn't bleeding quite as much as she was just a few hours ago. Still, that doesn't mean it hurts any less.

For just a moment, she thinks, she'll close her eyes. Gather herself, take a breath, then finish going to her room where she can lie down and sleep for a day or three.]

iii. a million voices in the crowd [wildcard]

[ooc; i'm down for anything! feel free to pm me or ping me on plurk at watchet if you'd like to do anything specific.]

ii

[rehandle]

[ It’s a fortunate thing he’s not made it back to his room yet. He’s on his way back there from an unhappy discovery when he turns the corner and makes another one— it takes just a handful of seconds from witnessing a body slumped against the wall for him to shift gears from weary traveler to alert professional and move in.

There’s no mistaking her for drunk or drug-addled, there are too many signs of injury. Bag dropped, his hand comes to her back to support in case she falls and is soon damp with blood. He brings a hand up to check the rate of her pulse even as he reaches out with his mind to check the coherency of her thoughts, and recognises her threefold all at once: catches sight of her face, feels the bond open up between them at skin contact and recognises dimly the signature attached to the swimming thoughts his power finds.

Ah. Displaced.

He should’ve anticipated it, given everything. Now he’s left scrambling to pull in the kind of calm that’ll be useful shared across the empathy bond. It comes, mind disciplined enough that he can call on meditative weight when he needs to lower a blanket of surety down over a troubled mind, but it’s incomplete. Deep sadness wriggles about underneath like a lump in the bed even as he pulls on the trappings of a focus that come with experience in both surgery and sorcery to feed back to her.

Stephen searches out for her name. Finds it, though by now his power is so second nature he can’t be sure whether it’s because he knows it or he’s read it from her. ]

Diana.

[ And as soon as he knows her name, he remembers their recent conversation. Not that there was ever any doubt that this was the UNA.

They can worry about disagreements another time. It was a lie, anyway. He’s turning her carefully to prop her more securely against the wall as he checks her face over for its wounds, and to implore her: ]

Open your eyes.

[ Initial assessments first, then they can get her moving. ]

riku | mostly ota

[inherited]

protect the people you care about | closed to Catra

[The moment the fight between Catra and Rey is over, Riku pivots from what he's doing. A lot's happened. It seems that the deployed soldiers are coming back. Riku doesn't know where Judas is, where he's going to end up. It's hard to tell, especially since he's been trying to play security around the base. Cover people's backs, knock out the soldiers, and move on. His powers aren't all that helpful in this situation, so he sticks to the shock/stun baton and does what he can. Or did.

He keeps an eye on Rey, but moves toward Catra, stepping in front of her with his baton in hand.]

Where do you think you're going? [he asks, tone even. Riku isn't the manic boy he was just a couple years ago, bound to lose it. He's calm. But the problem is that he's also angry. He has to actively control that anger and let it not break the surface calm, the surface regret that he always feels when he sees a friend hurt. Riku will always have that part of him that feels like he should be able to protect everyone. He just does what he can to manage it.

But … well … Catra's causing enough trouble that maybe she needs to be stopped from hurting more people. That's his reasoning right now.]

the underbelly of New Beijing | ota

[Riku knows better than to remain on the surface of New Beijing. He has a route in mind for his escape, but that isn't going to help him if his friends are in trouble along the way. So: he stays behind as long as possible, as long as necessary, until he heads down into the underbelly of the city, moving through the first few layers. He's trying to keep track of the people he knows while he moves, but it's hard. Who's shot? Who's in trouble?

It's only when he stops that he realizes that the dull ache in his side means that he could easily be one of those. Riku's hand moves to his side and it quickly comes away with blood on his fingertips. He makes a groaning sound and leans up against a nearby pillar. Though he has a power that could help with this, he doesn't think it's the right time. Like, at all.

The moment he spots a Displaced, he motions for them to come over.] Hey, I need some cover.

the ride back | ota

[Riku isn't someone who advertises that he's in a Mood. He doesn't snip or snap at people. He doesn't pick fights. Once upon a time? This was true of him, along with a sense of bravado and arrogance that he used to cover it up. It just isn't true anymore. No, now he's just frustrated, sullen, and silent. He looks as if he's caught somewhere else, mind in a daze.

That doesn't mean he's not alert. That doesn't mean he's unaware of his surroundings. It just means that he isn't quick to engage. He's the epitome of, "Riku's over there, come and bother him."

Though he won't ignore someone who looks like they're getting his attention. He'll just be slower to react, taking a second as if he's gathering his bearings. It's in this that he shows that he's upset: that he has to actively calm and check himself. Has to keep a hold on his thoughts and feelings so they don't spin away from him.

Yes, he's the vision of control. And he's having a hard time because of it.]

[purrsistence]

[ Catra grins as Riku steps forward, even as the alarm blares and red lights flash a warning all around them. ]

Oh hey, it's you! Long time no see!

[ She actually sounds ... happy to see him? Like she has no idea what he's pissed off about? Way to read the mood in the room, Catra. ]

I don't know about you, but those soldiers sound like they're getting pretty close! I was planning on getting outta dodge. But you can stay here if you want!

illya kuryakin ( ota )

[kgbs]

▶ 01. PRE

---

[ he hates this place. he hates it. never before has he so wanted to go back to russia or rome or just some place where he could shut his emotions down, leave everything behind and just focus on one singular thing: his mission.

but, he is stuck here. he is stuck here, facing down una soldiers until it's time to go. he's stuck here, dealing with loss after loss and he's tired of it. he's just tired.

he doesn't hesitate when it comes to the una this time. when he comes upon them, he hurts them. he kills them if he can.

but, he can only do so much as, even with his power, these soldiers are impossibly strong and illya eventually cuts his losses and leaves.

he's battered and slightly banged up but he's fine. he's still here, after all. and that, he thinks as he moves through the lower levels, trying to buy himself some time, is the worst thing of all.

he's alone. ]

▶ 02. POST

---

[ once they've made it back to new amsterdam, illya falls into a routine. he rarely steps foot inside the apartment because he doesn't want to deal with the memories. before all of this had happened, strange had mentioned marrying her memory and he hadn't even gotten a chance to do that, had he?

so, he stops in there sometimes but most of the time, he's in the fighting rings, taking on fight after fight, exhausting himself, beating men and women that want to try him, earning money and putting it away for...he doesn't even know.

he thinks that if he fights enough, he'll get this anger out of him. he'll leave it in the ring and eventually he'll feel all right.

that's the plan, that's what he's going with. ]

▶ 03. WILDCARD

---

[ feel free to throw other scenarios at me. i'm at spoonishly for plotting! ]

[myownwoman]

[ gaby looks out of place in the fighting rings, she always does, but she moves through the crowd with an authority that no one seems to question, moving out of her way like she is a shark in the middle of a school of scared fish. she has watched illya beat every foolish contender that walks into the ring and it's enough. the next person is going to get the drop on him and he is too big for her to carry home. ]

Enough. Get out.

[ she is even tinier next to the fight platform but this demand doesn't leave room for negotiation. he comes out or she goes in after him. ]

marcos diaz ( ota )

[heliophilous]

▶ 01. AWAY

---

[ he doesn't go near the una base. that's not really his strength especially not with his usual power taken away by this place. instead, he stays in the lower levels and assists those that show up, bleeding and battered. he can't stop himself from keeping an eye out for people he knows, whether it be very well or just obliquely. he wants to make sure they're okay along with the natives of this city.

his own painful encounter has long since worn off and he's pretty confident that the whole thing's not going to get back to worried girlfriends or cranky best friends.

he kneels down in front of a man he doesn't know and presses a pack of gauze to a cut on his head. ]

Stay still. You're going to be fine.

[ he hopes he's not lying. ]

▶ 02. TRAIN

---

[ there's a lot of information to sift through and a lot of things to hear but marcos finds himself weary when he settles down on the train. it doesn't take long for the sounds and the motion to lull him off into a light doze.

there, he dreams. of home, of a past he's getting further and further away from. he talks a bit, flails once or twice and then shoots up, breathing hard. there's someone close by and he laughs, sounding abashed when he speaks. ]

Sorry. Long few days.

[ to say the least. ]

▶ 03. WILDCARD

---

[ feel free to throw other scenarios at me. i'm at spoonishly for plotting. ]

takeshi kovacs ( ota )

[resleeves]

▶ 01. TRAIN, BABY

---

[ kovacs won't fucking mind not seeing new beijing ever again in his lifetime. it hadn't been the first shithole he's seen but it was still pretty goddamn bad and he's glad to leave it behind.

the train ride is stupidly long so kovacs is spending it by being himself. he's stretched out over a few seats, one long leg in the aisle while he thinks.

from what it sounds like, things had gone mostly okay. they weren't leaving the city in flames so did that mean he was going to get his stupid favor? was that stupid fucking ai gonna have to make him someone important now? ]

Think I'd make a good governor?

[ god help everyone if that happened. ]

▶ 02. WILDCARD

---

[ feel free to throw anything else at me. i'm at spoonishly for plotting. ]

01

[reneger]

Nah.

( since kovacs is hogging all the seats, jason sits himself down in the row in front of him, leans over the back of the seats to get a better look at him with a raised brow. )

What happened to being my right hand?

Ren Amamiya | Open

[variate]

001: UNA ESCAPE

[ the message from Cassius comes through loud and clear, and with looming failure and a heavy hesitance, Ren makes a break for it. without Judas in hand, he knows weight of this failure, and he knows they're not going to come back easy from this if Judas gets delivered to Cassius. that doesn't mean that they can't—that he can't—but the sinking feeling in his gut reminds him that there's more at stake. he just can't tell how much. ducking behind corners in the UNA base, hiding in the shadows, and sprinting through hallways, his determined expression sets behind the Morningstar mask.

who has Judas now?

the important question. the clock ticks down and Ren wonders just where he is—and just which Displaced as him tucked in their pocket. the possibilities tick like gears in his mind, focusing his intentions on getting through the UNA base alive and in one piece—along with Akechi and the rest of the Displaced.

a: if he finds someone else wandering the UNA corridors during the escape, his voice will ring out briefly while he catches up: ] Hold on! [ even if there's not a lot of time, there's still some time to find Judas—to help get people out. well, there are a lot of reasons.

b: even when he's running away from something, he can't help but stop for someone who needs help. it's one of those intrinsic instincts in him that causes him to turn on his heels toward anyone who might need a hand: cornered by UNA soldiers, scrambling to their feet, or just downright outnumbered. it's one of the only things that makes him forget his intentions to find the current pocket that Judas might be in. ]

002: TRAIN SPACE

[ there's a deep ache that Ren can't shake. it's in his bones and in his head, and doesn't feel much different from the time he was held in the basement of the police department. this time, though, he had really failed. no trick, no plan, just his hands empty of something important. despite his injuries—both a concussion and a gunshot wound—he still feels restless as the last of the adrenaline lingers in his body. by now, Judas was gone. whatever was in motion was pushed forward.

most of the ride is spent in discomfort, which hardly shows on his face unless someone gets close to him. he keeps his eyes out the window, the hood of new sweater pulled up over his head. for now, it's probably best to keep himself low, even if these parts of the mission weren't easy. patience was important, and there wasn't much he could do now but buy his time and figure out who exactly knew where Judas might be. he's far from given up.

anyone that sits next to him will break him from his concentration, and dark eyes will glance from beneath his hood and a mop of messy black hair. the expression on his face is inquiry enough. ]

003: WILDCARD

[ if you wanna toss something else, feel free! if you need a different prompt, go ahead and msg me here or at hadal. xox ]

Akechi

[variate]

[ getting out is harder than getting in. the chaos is both a blessing and a curse. it forces Ren to think on his feet, making split-second decisions to go left or right, back down a corridor or duck out the door. it becomes Displaced against UNA, and Displaced against Displaced. the new soldiers rush in and everything becomes a mess, much like being caught red-handed in a Palace, with every defense on high alert.

Ren dodges down a hallway and into the shadows behind one of the nearest corridors. there are red splotches of bruises blossoming on his cheeks, big welts that will turn from purple to blue in time, as well as whatever else may be beneath his clothing. amid everything was a grapple for Judas, wrestling for him back and forth for what seemed like hours when they only had minutes to spare. he had squared off with Faith, who had already made it clear that she would not back down. there's an adrenaline rush that's driving him forward, but he knows that when it ends, that the pain is going to come rushing like a floodgate. still, he persists. he's resilient, and uncaring of where the pain may lead.

worse than that, he's empty handed. there's no Judas to show for their efforts, just a lot of misery.

he finds Akechi not far, as they've stayed somewhat close since Cassius' message. there's a line of UNA soldiers to duck through, a corridor of chaos that's before them. they can't pick them off this time, and it seems everyone is out for blood. Ren loads the gun and holds it to his side, readying to use it if necessary, even if he intends to not call attention to himself. they dash through the soldiers and through the door, taking the first turn around the corner where the's a nook behind some boxes.

it's not until he stops that he feels the sting. the arm holding the gun locks, and his fingers twitch around the handle. it begins to feel heavy, and it's not until he touches his shoulder that he realizes that it's wet on his glove. blood. had he been shot, or was this something else? suddenly he can't place it. ]

...

Damn it.

[ deep and under his breath. ]

klaus mikaelson ♚ open

[interminably]

the not-so-great escape ♚ una base

( Klaus has fought off an onslaught of vampires and werewolves before. Singlehandedly, even. But, the soldiers sent as reinforcements are nothing of the sort. One is easy to best, but from one comes many. His attempts at getting the upper hand fail spectacularly. With every blow he tries to land, he's met with a blow of equal or greater strength. If he didn't know any better they were in his head. Even his vampire efforts backfire.

A jolt from a stun gun gets him right in the back and he cries out. It levels him, bringing him to his knees. One soldier gets a few right crosses in, sending Klaus to the ground.

His only form of escape is one overly zealous soldier essentially flinging him down the corridor. He hits the ground with a roll and lands at someone's feet.

Luckily, it doesn't devolve into a round of bowling. )

making tracks ♚ train

( Klaus doesn't do being cooped up well. The hotel was one thing, but the train is another. For the beginning parts of the ride, Klaus sits quietly, watching the scenery pass by. The phantom pain he endured remind him of a formidable psychic vampire he once encountered a year before Hope was born. He thinks back to Caroline in his drawing room, trying to pry a phantom piece of wood from his back. He wonders if it's implant related. Maybe it is. Maybe that's how the soldiers got into his head. Or, maybe, they're just well trained super soldiers form the alternate future he's found himself in.

At any rate, the thinking gives him a headache so he does get up a few times to wander the aisle.

He makes note of everyone else, especially those he'd already encountered in New Beijing. He's perhaps a little too focused on some, but old habits do die hard.

A couple of times, he makes a side comment. It's not about conversation, it's about the genuine hope that someone on this train has a flask with them. )

I don't suppose 'bar cart' is included in the upgrade in our accommodations.

( also, let me know if you want anything specific, or feel free to start your own scenario as well. if needed, hit me up on plurk (manipulative))

train.

[sestra]

[ helena has claimed a spot for herself, but it doesn't mean she won't get up and wander around herself. unlike klaus, she's on the hunt for food over booze. empty seats with anything left? stolen, hers now. ]

[ she looks up and over slowly when she hears the man, not quite sure if he's actually speaking to her. ]

Are you looking to be alcoholic?

hope mikaelson ; ota

[tribridfreakshow]

escape;

[Hope has no intention of sticking around once the shit starts to hit the fan. She running at her top speed, faster than a human would have any right to, and it's clear to anyone who sees her that there's a great deal of blood on her clothes. If she's wounded, it doesn't seem to be slowing her down, though.

If anyone else is having trouble on their way out, she'll slow down to help, even if it's just to drag them alone with her.]

laying low;

[Staying cooped up in a hotel seems totally fine to her after what they'd all just been through. She might like to act like she's totally tough and hard as nails, but that's a lie.

Killing still leaves its burden on her, and now that the adrenaline has worn off and she's no longer in the thick of it, she's replaying some of the things she did through her mind, staring off into space as she tries to just get through these last couple of days.

If anyone is wounded, she'll offer to help them. Healing blood sure comes in handy, though it's up to them if they take her up on it.]

arriving at the hotel; closed to klaus mikaelson

[Well, she's still alive. That's something, right?

She would be easy to find, especially for a certain hybrid father with a keen sense of smell. After all, her blood, as well as the blood of several others, is all over her. though she tries to keep it visibly hidden as best as she can.

Hope is exhausted at this point, having run herself ragged since the operation began, but she can't say that she isn't proud that they did what they set out to do, that she was a part of it. The darker bits of the heist are a little harder on her conscience, but they haven't quite sunk in yet.

Her steps through the lobby are quick as she heads straight for the stairs, wanting desperately to clean off.]

closed for business

[interminably]

( They said if anything happens, if they lose track of one another, that they'd meet back at the hotel. By the time he remembers he can invade her mind any time he likes, he decides to give her the benefit of the doubt. His impatience wears thin, but he's distracted by the aftermath of the UNA siege. Faces he recognizes and faces he doesn't are making their way back. He's staring intently at someone's bleeding forehead cut. He and Kol should steal away when they get the chance.

He catches a scent he'd never forget, and then watches his daughter hurry in covered in blood. )

Hope.

( He doesn't raise his voice, not wanting to make a scene. She can hear him at that decibel level, and she better stop in her tracks. It could be a very public display, Klaus raising his voice like that, but considering most people seem to know Hope, they should know someone here is responsible for her, and cares for her. Still, he restrains himself.

The scene around him falls away as he focuses on his daughter, the smell of her blood, and others. His own wounds have healed over but there are still spots on his clothing where the blood has dried. He uses a level of restraint heretofore unknown to him as he waits. He doesn't want to scare her away, and she does seem determined. Most likely to clean off. )

You're fully healed?

nill | ota

[culver]

i. life is not a love song, we can try [hiding out]

[The explosions are what draw Nill out of the hotel, at first. She'd told herself she was going to stay put, to wait for everyone to come back and then help out from there. But she has to know what's going on. What if they're out there, caught in the blasts? She's gripped the hilt of the knife pulled from her chest in Zerzura all night, hoping for some comfort no matter how cold, and it stays in her hand as she finally makes her decision. Sitting still and worrying won't do her any good, so she decides to do her worrying out in the streets instead.

But it isn't much better than hiding behind closed doors.

Outside is chaos; people are running in every direction, screaming, panicking. It takes a lot out of her just to keep herself calm. She darts down the street, bag of medical supplies banging against her thigh as she runs; nobody pays her a second glance, not with her too-big jacket and small frame, and that suits her just fine. Eventually, she gets to a place where she can see the UNA base--and the absolute havoc that has been wreaked.

Dread fills her heart. She knows that anyone on that base is going to be dead by the morning if they don't get out. And she lived in a big, ugly city long enough to know where people who are trying to hide go.

Nill makes her way to the city's underbelly, unseen, unmarked. She doesn't know how she'll find the other displaced, but she'll be damned if she doesn't try. The knife, which she'd tucked into her bag for safekeeping, finds its way back to her hand.

Minutes tick by slowly, turn into hours. She scours the streets, using her powers to slip through walls when she hears someone coming, poking her head out through the bricks to see who might be passing her by. Friend or foe? Anyone dressed like a soldier gets a wide berth, but anyone who seems like they might be injured, or just in need of a place to hide, draws her out from the safety of concrete walls. She broadcasts a short-range message if she doesn't know the person, waving them over to where she stands halfway through a wall.]

Are you okay?

ii. to fix our broken pieces one at a time [wildcard]

[ooc; i'm open for anything! hit me up on plurk at watchet or pm me on this journal if you want to do something specific.]

catra | post-raid | ota

[purrsistence]

01. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

[ If you had business you wanted to take up with Catra after the raid, you might have tried to find her in New Beijing in the aftermath. But where Catra had previously been easy to find in the city despite it's size, making trouble for herself everywhere she went, suddenly she's nowhere to be found.

The next time she resurfaces is on the train home, kicking her feet up in a first class carriage, stretching out luxuriously and yawning in the plush train compartment like a lazy cat. She might be one of the only people here who looks satisfied, and she munches outrageously on expensive food and drink as they travel, without a care for whoever else might be nearby. ]

Ahhh! This is the life!

02. SEEING STARS

[ After sunset, as the train pulls away from New Beijing, Catra is milling about the general area of the train and stretching her legs when the train emerges from a tunnel, and suddenly all the stars in the night sky are visible from the train carriage windows for the first time since they arrived. The light pollution in New Beijing had been too dense to see them at all.

Catra lets out the softest gasp under her breath as she sees them and runs to the nearest window, pressing her face against it. For once, her face is full of awe and wonder. ]

What...? Are those all planets?

[ She almost sounds... reverent. A rare sight indeed. ]

03. WILDCARD

[ Feel free to write something else if you'd like to encounter Catra after the UNA raid! Or you can always pm this journal, hit me up at exclamationmarks on plurk or emiri#3333 on discord if you'd like to plot! ]

02

[impede]

Yes, they're all planets. [If it were literally anyone else, Akechi may be less willing to lie to her. Telling her that the stars was planets comes to him so easily.

This is what she gets for stealing his food right out of his hand. The good news is that he knows now not to easy anything when he sees her within his sights.]

This world stands in danger of being attacked by any of them. They all are rather close.

[batricide]

TRAIN.

[ After getting in multiple scuffles with multiple people over the fate of the AI, Damian is - honestly, he's probably concussed thanks to his scuffle with Faith. Made worse by his scuffles with everyone else he's decided to fight. He's sitting in seats away from everyone else, head resting against the window, looking far less guarded and bristly than he usually does.

He's just fucking exhausted and pissed off. All he wants to do is go home and go to bed, sleep off this whole miserable experience, but he's not so fortunate and he doubts he'll ever be. ]

henry cooldown ★ ota

[handsomefoil]

★ ｃｈｏｏ  ｃｈｏｏ

There's a lot of tension on board, but there's a relatively well-dressed man leaning comfortably back in his seat, using the neck pillow and blanket as intended and generally appearing very relaxed. His eyes are closed, and his gloved hands are neatly folded in his lap. Maybe he's snoozing?

Considering all that's happened, the fact that he's so relaxed might be a touch suspicious. He's well-aware of this fact, but there's no point in him getting his hackles up over something that's already happened. He can't do anything about that. That's his backstory, he reminds himself. He had been very much involved in the release of Judas, and knew very well that it wasn't Good for the people of this world, but it's none of his concern. His first priority is himself, and until he's able to return back to his own universe or realm or whatever it's called, it's going to stay that way.

He looks relaxed, but his mind is anything but.

★ ｄａｎｃｅ  ｗｉｔｈ  ｍｅ

Wait no— Wildcard with me! You can ping me at the disco (hanshi) or PP/add me on plurk (also hanshi) if ya have an idea for a scenario. Henry will tend to work in the background, so laying low in the lower levels is definitely his jam.