towerofanimus | Endgame: This Broken Jaw of Our Lost Kingdoms; Part Two

It wasn't fair. She had been on the meteor for so, so long already. Even knowing that it was an awful place, and even knowing that she might have died there, she had been happy to return to the Tower. Isn't that what Ruana had wanted? For all of them to be happy there? Why cast out one of the few people who actually wanted to live in the Tower?

She didn't understand, but Kanaya couldn't think about that without hearing the laughing echo of Terezi's voice in the back of her mind, taunting her for her inability to consider the world outside of her own experiences. She'd found Terezi's corpse at one point during her half-sweep stay. She didn't have any desire to return to its resting place, though. There wasn't anything left for her to say.

It was instinct to find Karkat's disemboweled body and sit next to it, as she had been when she was first taken to the Tower and as she did during most of the time that she was gone. Even though so much time had passed, none of the corpses of her friends had decomposed the way they should have. Kanaya didn't really understand that, either. She might have been grateful to know that her friends weren't turned inside-out in the characteristic way of the dead worlds, if she had any way of knowing that that was how people killed by the world-destroying virus ended up. But she had been the only one left alive in the lab by the time she was saved; there were no other complex organisms for the virus to ravage. Only the shells of people who were already dead.

The harsh metal structures of the lab on the meteor almost resembled the Tower in some places, and were just as unwelcoming in the Veil as they were back under the rule of the administrators. And, just as in the Tower, the building housed an abundance of stairs, as well as a cluster of computer terminals in one room. The stairwells and strange teleportation panels were the main ways to navigate the lab; it was a bit labyrinthine in size, but it would be easy to find Kanaya no matter where someone emerged from.

After all, there was a trail of rainbow-colored troll bodies, and Kanaya was right at the end of it in another computer room, sitting on the floor next to Karkat with her back turned to the teal-ridden shell of Feferi.

This would be the first time she's even been in another world. Or, at least after the Tower. Vietnam has never even had a chance to return to her own dead world, despite hearing the stories of how everything now was barren and ruined where they came from. That it was all true.

And so she kept walking. This place was reminiscent of the tower, looking very much like a death trap. Too many computers in the one secluded place could never be a good thing. But with so much around, perhaps it meant that there was something to be found.

The bodies, as strange as they looked, was not the surprising thing. It wasn't even Kanaya. It was just the entire image of her sitting there with the bodies, looking defeated.

"Kanaya!" Vietnam called out before she made her way towards her roommate.

It was clear by the way Kanaya jumped that she wasn't expecting to see any other living people. But then, what gave her reason to think that? She was always meant to be the last one in this place. Perhaps, had she been more attentive, she would have noticed the shift that precipitated her visitor's arrival. But Kanaya never got points for being in the know on things.

She didn't move away from Karkat's body; she simply regarded Vietnam with a lost look. She appeared younger than she did in the Tower, having been returned to her true body, but she was still easily recognizable to someone who had seen her on a daily basis, like a blockmate.

Eventually, after a moment, Kanaya spoke up. Her voice was just as hazy as her gaze, light in its uncertainty. "...Vietnam?"

Immediately, Vietnam raised her hands up before she continued her approach, showing that it was just her, it wasn't someone who was there to attack or mean her any harm. With a place looking like this, she wouldn't be surprised at all if Kanaya would consider her a threat at first.

However, the look she gave her was different; it wasn't hostile, it was just lost. She was also looking younger, but then considering that they were no longer at the tower, this was something Vietnam decided to question later. Now was not the time for such things.

She knelt down beside Kanaya, considering the body she sat next to before she looked up again. "Yes, it is Vietnam. Is this your home?"

((actually, one more, because Lucifel's presence is generally handwaved unless he's directly addressed or his player is available. She's been very busy.))

They would be joined by more as another portal opened. Enoch and Lucifel stepped through, and the former glanced around and gave a frustrated sigh. They kept getting split up...

In any case, Enoch started towards the sound of voices, leading Lucifel along until they'd found their fellow wireframe and the one native. At least the corpses here were normal.

It was clear they'd seen a few worlds by now, the images within the wireframe more defined, not quite as ghostly, and Enoch moved with an ease that suggested he was comfortable in his own body.

Though the odd thing was, he wasn't terribly familiar with either of these people. Not as if it mattered, it just disrupted the pattern that he'd noticed with the other worlds. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he crossed the room to them, raised a hand in a truncated greeting, and knelt down near the two, himself. He knew how it felt to be on a dead world. The more people around, the better.

"Hello."

Kanaya didn't seem too offended by Vietnam's approach, allowing her to situate herself nearby. She knew Vietnam was probably curious about Karkat, from the look she gave his husk, but Kanaya wasn't sure she felt up to explaining exactly what she had lost on that final day.

The young troll considered the question. Yes, this was her world, most definitely. But Kanaya hadn't really had a home for a very long time, even before the Reckoning wiped out their planet. Being a fugitive sort of had that funny side-effect. After a thick, thoughtful silence, Kanaya glances back down to Karkat, sadness concentrated in the contours of her face. "No. We were simply hiding here."

The appearance of another pair in wireframe, people she did not recognize, drew her attention away from her dead moirail. Under normal circumstances, yes, Kanaya would have been very wary. But their wireframe bodies marked them as being from the Tower, so she was just relieved to know for certain that she would no longer be alone--surrounded by compatriots from that strange place.

"Hello," she returned, the edge of disorientation not quite gone from her tone just yet.

Vietnam definitely was curious, but she was not about to go asking about his body. Perhaps something about what happened? It was not her place, if Kanaya was still in despair about this situation. The answer she got was more than enough.

"Hiding." It saddens to know when anyone hid, but never managed to live to emerge. This was worse than dying from battle one was partaking in, and a feeling she knew all too well, or at least through others.

She did not say anymore when two more arrived. These two she did not recognise, though the voice she thought she had heard before, perhaps in the cells when everyone were talking to each other to see if their comrades were with them.

Vietnam shuffled on her knees to be able to greet them properly. "Hello, my name is Vietnam."

Enoch understood the disorientation. Especially if she'd been here for a long time, or been here before, having other people around suddenly would be rather strange. So he gives her a reassuring smile.

"I am Enoch, and this is my friend and guardian, Lucifel. It seems Zo has sent us on a journey to find you all."

The tone of Vietnam's voice, for some reason, made Kanaya feel as if maybe her blockmate understood what it was like to have to hide or die. Perhaps she would tell Vietnam what happened, if there was even an opportunity to after this. For the time being, though, Kanaya was focused on Enoch's words.

She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing, and it came through in the blank way she regarded Enoch before it really sunk in. The flat expression became one of profound relief and, to some degree, even excitement. "Really? We are not trapped here?"

The spark of hope was enough to make her lose track of her manners, forgetting completely to introduce herself to these strangers for the moment. But she had to make sure she wasn't--imagining things, or something. It was easy to go a little crazy in a situation like this.

Kanaya brightening up was indication that she was ready to get out of here. Which in a way, would make things easier; Vietnam feared that a few of these others may feel like they want to remain in their dead world to repair it. But perhaps not.

So she nods. "Yes, he's right, we are not trapped here. We can through portals from the Tower, so we can go whenever you are ready."

There was something that Vietnam needed to do though, as formalities would not allow her to skip over this, and that was to Enoch and Lucifel: "It is also nice to meet you, Enoch and Lucifel. And work with you for now!"

"Same here." Lucifel wouldn't stop Kanaya, anyone in her place would react this way, so he learned. And besides, it didn't matter to him if she introduced herself to them, there were a few more important things at this moment.

But that aside, he didn't want to stay in the dead worlds for longer than they had to.

Enoch gave his companion a glance. He knew, being in these worlds was uncomfortable, but this was the most hopeful he'd felt about it in ages...

"It's nice to meet you, as well. There should be a portal somewhere in this world that will lead us elsewhere. Let's find it."

He notices the corpses around aren't in the same condition as the others, then, but...he won't say anything about it. That's not the sort of thing one should ask about when you've only just met.

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

Kanaya Maryam; The Veil

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Having two more around okay?

cool with me! c:

and me too!!

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