Endgame: This Broken Jaw of Our Lost Kingdoms; Part One

[animusmods]

Characters: open to those trapped in cells
Setting: the cells
Format: any
Summary: Those left abandoned in the Tower have some time to speak to each other. In the middle of the room, a clock counts down...
Warnings: general animus endgame warnings

Comments

[greyerrant]

[ He rests within his armor, barely able to move without the enhancements of the Astartes. His own second skin, slowly crushing him to death by inches. Zelda's voice seems to awaken him, and he husks out through his never-repaired helm. ]

I did not, but I was upstairs for the last bit. I have not seen them here.

[sageprincess]

That light was blinding. I could not tell if they were affected by it the same as we were.

[She frowns, eyes cast downward. That could mean something terrible, but--]

Perhaps they managed to escape it.

[greyerrant]

[ Loken shrugs his shoulders as best he can within the prison of his warplate, and says in a voice that sounds surprisingly gentle for one addressing a xenos. ]

Perhaps. It is a hope to cling to, as time runs down. [ He looks at the clock for a moment and says ]

If they did escape it, I wonder what they are doing... or if they can do anything at all.

[sageprincess]

[She folds her arms over herself as her calls her reach for hope for what it is, no matter how kindly he may say it. It's a fragile hope, but it's all she has between herself and despair as the seconds tick ever onwards.]

Aria managed to stay undetected for nearly a year before she made her move to create the hidden sanctuary. Zo is powerful in his own right.

Until the situation changes, we have to believe they can.

[greyerrant]

[ Loken is quiet for a moment, then nods his head. He slowly moves his hand to grasp his chainsword. It is a worthless gesture, but it gives him a sort of comfort. An old, familiar thing. ]

Indeed. I have always preferred to trust a combination of my strength as well as that of my comrades. [ Even at the darkest hour of his previous battles, he could at least manage defiance. Here, he's struggling just to not die from his own weight. ]

Maybe... maybe their absence is the difference we made, in the end. Gave them a chance to salvage something.

[sageprincess]

It is not the end until that clock strikes zero.

[Her own defiant rhetoric is likely sounding more and more delusional as the situation degrades, but there is nothing she has refused to do more than believe all their efforts have been for naught.]

But... maybe. Hopefully. There is not much we can do from here, now, it seems.

[As much as she hates it.]

[greyerrant]

Until the end then. [ his head sags against his chest for a moment, breathing even more labored. ]

Ar... Saber of white said you'd be a good leader. She...

[ He rasps, then continues. ]

She was right. [ His helm turns to lock the red eyeslits with Zelda. ]

Your strength here, now in the end, even if it means little, is reassuring. We are defined by who we are in the dark, and what light we can bring there. Remember that.

[sageprincess]

[Something he says seems to strike a chord with her, an old memory that had been set aside to collect dust. Gandalf had said something similar, about the people trapped within the Tower requiring a leader to guide them to the light in dark times, back when she was still relatively new to the Tower herself - back when he first placed his faith in that responsibility lying with her.

With a nostalgic air about her, she nods.]

... Thank you. Though it is something I have kept in mind for a good while now. I shall certainly not be forgetting any time soon.

[greyerrant]

If there's any time left at all. [ His eyes slide back to the ticking down clock. ]

A question, one to indulge as we pass the time in these cells. What are you most proud of, at least in your time here?