Endgame Part 2 [log] [modplot]

[letsgolegion]

ENDGAME PART 2
SUMMARY

Armed with the Miracle Machine, and facing a universe that's starting to break down at the seams, the Legion must venture through Chronoblivion's outer shells - made up of the fragments of dead universes - to allow the Miracle Machine access to the dimensional space the Big C's core self exists in. Only when they're technically in the right reality can the device alter the reality in it to defeat him.

But Chronoblivion's shell is a dangerous place. Many of the individuals that have tried to look into its depths have gone mad, and every brave fool that's wandered in has never come out, nor have they broken through to the other side.

The only chance the Legion has of breaking through the shell - and also breaking it down enough to get a crack at the gooey center - is if they rely on each other on the journey through. Because if they get stuck there, the twisted pocket dimensions within will grind them away until they cease to exist.

THE MAZE

They have the Miracle Machine and there was enough hope in both galaxies to keep it from fading from existence. It's fully charged now, and influenced by Brainy's mind as he took it out of its pocket in the Bleed, the space between universes, it's taken the form of a round piece of metal with a Legion insignia, not unlike their Legion belt buckles.

But they still have one of the greatest challenges of their lives ahead of them. Even with the Penitent and her monsters gone, the Catastrophists have refused to quit. They've left every world as It summoned them all here.

But the Legion was able to move much faster. Shikari, the Legion's only Kwai member, is one of the most talented Wayfinders the Kwai have ever seen, one who's navigated starpaths beyond that of most other Kwai. Leading them through through a threshold gate, she found them the fastest way through D-space to the twisted section of space that Chronoblivion inhabits, beating the Catastrophists there.

Now, outside the twisting and folding dimensions before them, they ready themselves for the last leg of their adventure.

"Quantum Legion," Shikari says over the comms. "I have found us the Way! Brr! The insides are twisted and broken and I see no clear paths, but the way in through its outermost shell is straight and true."

"That's at least a start. Alright, Legion, we don't have much time," says Kid Quantum. "Brainy says due to the way Chronoblivion warps reality, we need to get the device close - so it's technically in the same dimensional space - to work. Some of us are going to have to stay outside to hold off the Catastrophists. Shikari only bought us a few minutes' head start. It's not exactly going to be a picnic for the people going inside, but for the people outside - it's going to be rough, too."

"It's pretty obvious who should stay behind," says Garth Ranzz, Livewire, his voice sounding moody. But if they think he's going to demand the displacees face chump duty...well, they'd be wrong. "We saw all of you working. The crystal was able to resonate with our galaxy, and it's all we could do, just...watch. And you were sprocking amazing. I mean, yeah, you had your growing pains but so did we when the team first started. The rest of us are a mess. We need to be on stupid mook duty for this one."

"He's right. You were incredible," says Imra Ardeen, aka Saturn Girl, the Legion's Titanian telepath, finishing his thought. Telepathically, she shares images of some of their greatest triumphs that they witnessed: the defeat of Galactus, the imprisoning of the Spectre, the capture of the Joker in a refrigerator, the defeat of War and the traitorous UP Council-members - and so many more. "And we're all rusty. We could barely move in that place, let alone practice. There's no way we can defeat Chronoblivion in our current state, we'd just trip over our own feet. But we can try to hold the Catastrophists off."

"I don't like the idea of leaving you out here alone," says Kid Quantum. "You're all really worn out by your time in there..."

"The day we can't pull mook duty," says Jo Nah, Ultra Boy, cracking his knuckles, "is the day we hand in our rings. We've got this. And you've all got this."

"Alright," says Kid Quantum. "I want all current active duty Legionnaires to head in for the final fight. All Legionnaires that were in the crystal dimension, you're outside, holding the line. Imra and Shikari, you're the only ones coming in with the rest of us. Shikari, wherever you can, we need you to guide us towards Chronoblivion's core self. Imra, I want you to connect all the Legionnaires heading in telepathically, to make it easier for us to find each other if we're split up."

"Livewire," says Imra. "As acting Legion leader of the group that was in the crystal dimension, I'm officially giving you command of the group outside. With Kid Quantum's permission, of course."

"Permission granted. Good luck, Garth," Kid Q says. "And good luck, team."

Kid Quantum steadies herself with a deep breath. In the distance, they start to see the popping lights of boom tubes opening. For just a moment, two Legions face each other, past and present, but it becomes immediately clear that they're not separate, not at all. As some of the Legionnaires turn to face the waves of enemies about to crash against the shore, and as others turn to face the impossible, twisting depths of a living nightmare, they're all clearly filled with the same resolve.

"Time to go. Stay as close as you can to each other, watch each other's backs, and fight hard. We have no idea what's in there." Kid Q's jaw sets. "But we've come this far and they still haven't stopped us. Chronoblivion wants to take a bite of out of us? Let's go show him that we bite back."

Space warps and twists as they descend into the depths, and there's a feeling like hitting a brick wall at a hundred miles an hour and then being split through a sieve. Reality rewrites itself time and time again. Their fears become manifest, painful memories reawaken, their imaginations are even plumbed for fears they didn't know to be afraid of.

But they instinctively feel a draw towards other Legionnaires thanks to Imra's telepathy. And there is a way out of every scenario, if they work together, if they confront their fears or their pasts, if they know themselves.

On the other side is...an ending. It's still up in the air whether it'll be a good one or not. But they have to get there first.

[ooc: You can set up your scenarios based on the info in infopost below. Please note if scenarios are open or closed.]

Comments

[unrecovered]

Wash levels a flat stare at him before shifting his gaze back to the wall. "That's what they all say," he mutters-

And then he startles and jerks back so hard that he bangs his shoulder and head against the wall. The impact sets off a round of pain in his back and ribs that dies down almost as quickly as it flared up. Some small part of his mind understands that it's the orb that's helping with the pain; the rest of him shuts the thought down. It can't help if it's not real, and it's not real.

Never mind that his hallucinations have never touched him before. It's new, and terrifying, and it rattles his certainty that it was all a dream down to its core.

But that certainty is the only defense Wash has against hope and the inevitable devastating reality that will follow it, so even though it's battered, he rallies behind it. "The Legion isn't real, and neither are you," he snarls. "Now get out of my head!" That line has literally never worked, but that won't stop him from trying it anyway.

[orbislife]

The muttering is noted, and Zenyatta has to wonder if how many times Wash has hallucinated to know "That's what they all say." Is it more than what they've seen from the unmolded ones they faced before? Zenyatta files that away to discuss another time and place.

Given that Wash has just hurt himself, Zenyatta will not comply with his command to get out of his head. He continues sensing the hurt and confusion in Wash's spirit, but buried in that is hope. Hope is what Zenyatta hopes to strengthen.

"If I was a part of your mind, then I represent some part of you who wants the life I speak of. You want to protect others and the companionship in the Legion over being trapped in this cell."

He taps a finger to his chin. "However, I would like you to think of it this way. The worst that could happen is a return to your current situation. You do not lose anything but the possibility that the opposite could be true. It could be cathartic and allow you to start moving on. The reverse has many more gains. Let yourself be true to what you want."

He pauses to let that sink in before adding one more detail he hopes will nudge him further out of this dimension.

"And if you do not free yourself from this cell, who will feed your cat?"

[unrecovered]

"Yeah, well, I have a bad habit of wanting things I can't have, and look at where it gets me." He gestures to the cell, a mocking Vanna White motion. He can't go after anything he wants without it backfiring horribly on him. This is just the latest installment of that pattern.

He's about to snap at Zenyatta again - that's not the worst that could happen; he knows what the worst that could happen is, and he's not going to live through that again - when Zenyatta asks about his cat.

I don't have a cat, is what he means to say. "Locus will, or York," is what comes out instead, almost without his thinking about it.

But Locus doesn't exist - Wash's dream created him. And York has been dead for years. These are facts.

But Locus will feed DC if Wash isn't around to do it, and Wash will feed Luna in turn. And York is the one who got him the kitten in the first place, anonymously delivered via Legion staffer. These are also facts.

What the fuck is wrong with him?!

He shrinks away from Zenyatta, back pressed to the wall, hands clutching his head, eyes wide. He can't lose it again. He can't. He won't survive. But how is he supposed to keep his grip on his sanity if he can't even remember what's real?

The cigarette falls from his fingers, hits the floor, and disappears. For a moment, the walls waver.

[orbislife]

Zenyatta's response to Wash's panic is automatic. He chimes his orbs in a steady, pattern. He says gently, "Breathe with me. One breath in, one breath out. Breathe in. Breathe out." At each prompting, Zenyatta inhales and exhales.

The wavering walls are encouraging and along the lines of what Zenyatta hoped to see. He regrets that mentioning DC brings Wash so much distress. He thinks of the time they spent petting all those cats until they were content enough to return to their own dimension. A time when Zenyatta had turned human and avoided freezing to death in his own habitat thanks to Wash's intervention. Wash had been so at peace then. Zenyatta reaches out towards Wash's spirit, trying to use that memory as a guide.

"You are so much more than what you see here. I have seen the warrior and the protector in you. You use that experience and knowledge to teach others."

He's thinking of the combat training classes Washington held, but that also causes Zenyatta to think of that impromptu flight lesson he coaxed out of him.

"Ah, did you know that when we first met, I purposely flew into you?" He laughs sheepishly. "I will admit that I was looking for an excuse to put my Orb of Harmony on you. You had looked like you hadn't slept in days, and I had hoped that I could help you rest.... It was not one of my best ideas...."

[unrecovered]

Zenyatta is too loud and barely audible at the same time, as Wash tries to remember which set of memories is real, remember how to breathe, remember anything that isn't constantly in flux or out of his grasp-

(Though he eventually starts breathing in time with Zenyatta's instructions, without realizing it, and it does help.)

Part of him wants to believe Zenyatta's words - it's the part of him that remembers going on missions, holding movie nights, teaching the younger Legionnaires how to fight, and tracking down friends to make sure they were okay. The other part refuses outright - how could anyone see a warrior and a protector in a selfish, broken tool?

It doesn't make sense. None of this makes any fucking sense.

Somehow, Zenyatta's admission makes it through the deadlock in his thought process, and he pauses and just stares at the omnic. "Subtle," he says, because sarcasm is virtually automatic for him at this point, though right now his tone is mild. "Do you run over everyone you want to help, or am I just lucky?"

Banter is easy to fall into; after all, according to one set of memories, he's done this before. Zenyatta is a friend. And unlike everything else in his wrecked and conflicting memories, Zenyatta is here.

The walls waver and flicker again, offering glimpses of the void beyond, but Wash's gaze never strays from Zenyatta.

[orbislife]

Relief fills Zenyatta's circuits to see that the panic attack is subsiding. He would much rather break Washington out of this false reality than break Washington himself.

"It depends on your version of luck. I cannot run anyone over if I do not run." He playfully wiggles a foot as he's bobs a little in his hover. Humor and banter are some things he can do. Especially if it keeps Washington interacting with him rather than trying to dismiss him as a figment of his mind. "But sometimes I take 'crossing paths' quite literally."

He tilts his head as he considers the Orb of Harmony hovering near Wash. "However, you are safe for the moment... unless you think it would help. I could help knock you off course and down a different path."

Zenyatta means that in more ways than one.

[unrecovered]

Wash snorts at the joke, fully ready to ask Zenyatta if he understands the concept of metaphor, and pauses as Zenyatta makes that offer. It doesn't sound like he's offering to physically bowl Wash over - it sounds like something else entirely, something that, despite his paranoid trepidation, Wash might actually want.

He's in too deep as it is; might as well start digging, until he either hits the other side or makes it to 'the worst that could happen.' "Literally or otherwise?"

[orbislife]

"I could do both," Zenyatta says, a smile clear in his voice. "However, I think taking the first step yourself will result in less pain."

He motions to the door to the cell. He has seen the world around them waver in in sync with Wash's beliefs. Would the illusion disappear with the opening of that door by Wash himself? Will Zenyatta have to attempt to push him through it? Will something else trigger this cell's collapse?

"Please do not take too long. We have things we need to do."

[unrecovered]

He follows the line of Zenyatta's gesture, then looks back at Zenyatta. Really. Really. Well if that isn't the most overused of metaphors.

"You're kidding," he says flatly, knowing full well that Zenyatta isn't. He makes his way around Zenyatta (with some effort, as the cell isn't exactly roomy) and raps on the door with his knuckles, letting the muffled clang it produces fade before he speaks again. "It's not that easy. It's never that easy. Believe me, I wish it was. I-"

He stops short as the full weight of that wish, said almost without thinking, settles on him. He wants it to be that easy. He wants to be able to walk out of here and rejoin the Legion - hell, he wants the Legion to exist instead of being a figment of his traumatized imagination.

But that's not how his life works. It's never that easy.

"I really wish it was that easy," he continues, acting as though that choked pause hadn't happened, turning his back to the door and leaning against it. "I-"

His words break into a surprised yelp as he falls backwards. The door, which had been so solid only moments before, had simply disappeared, letting him fall through and land heavily on his back in a vast, white void.

Around Zenyatta, the illusion of prison wavers and dissipates.

[orbislife]

Zenyatta looks around as the illusion breaks to leave them in endless white. The change in visible space around them is almost unfathomable. He could stare in one direction and see forever. It's a wonder he found Wash in this place. There had to be another force at work. Wash's soul must have called out, and he answered.

Hovering over towards Wash, Zenyatta looks down before extending a hand to him. "You have done well. The first step is always the hardest." Or the first backwards fall through the door. Perhaps not seeing the door helped a little, but Zenyatta can feel the change in Wash. There is hope and motivation blooming with in him.

Still, Zenyatta has to ask, "Are you with us?"