Total Annihilation

Year: 214 CE - 215 CE ("208 CE")

As World War 19 raged on...

The people of all countries on Yata and Theia, except the Eladian countries, Mei'ra and Alyphia experience dizziness.

Then suddenly, bright white streams of energy spew out of people, albeit harmlessly.

The streams twist around and fly around, eventually meeting other streams, connecting.

Andrei says "HUH?!"

"What is this..."

A white, whispy tentacle of energy protrudes out of his chest.

It is short and stubby unlike anyone else's, whose have connected to someone else's.

People stop in the streets confused, seeing a net of tangled streams of energy.

In a crowd, two people notice that they are connected.

They walk up to each other to investigate.

But they catastrophically explode.

Soldiers on battlefields also meet who they are connected to and similarly explode.

Mylonagrad says "WHAT THE HELL?!?"

The flash dissipates and carnage ensues with explosions happening everywhere.

DIVIDER

Similarly, explosions happen in TERAPRO.

WARNING. WARNING. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH YOUR CONNECTED PARTNER.

CERTAIN DEATH WILL ENSUE.

Cormac says "LAZULI!"

"GET AWAY!"

Lazuli says "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Andrei says "YOU TWO ARE CONNECTED!"

"YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY!"

Soldiers grab Cormac and Lazuli and put them in containment units.

DIVIDER

Andrei says "So she just..."

"Fell into the acid?"

Samuel says "Yeah.."

"The mask survived."

"It took control of the creature.."

"We were climbing out just as the mouth began to close.."

"Then they sealed it shut."

The train is passing through the deserts in Keiria.

Samuel says "We're meant to be thinking of a plan.. Andrei."

Andrei says "Right- yeah... yeah."

He notices Samuel's link fluttering out of the window to somewhere distant.

"Good thing we're headed in the opposite direction from your partner."

Samuel says "Yeah."

"And you don't even have one."

Chapter 2

The SDS-001 crisis has died down, but scientists are still looking for a method of reversal.

Andrei notices his wisp is growing.

Samuel says "You're... connecting with something."

Andrei says "Huh..."

The wisp grows into the sky.

It begins glowing intensely.

DIVIDER

Iujadogia says "Hey.."

"Do any of you see this... long white, glowy thing?"

"In the Theian skies?"

Gensokyo says "..."

The barrier shuts down.

Macanaland says "HEY!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Gensokyo says "Prepare the deep space fleet."

"And find me Andrei Varady."

"NOW."

DIVIDER

Andrei's train stops in Gensokyo.

Andrei says "Well.."

"We're her-"

"Hang on."

"We're here."

"Th.."

"That's not... right.."

Samuel says "We need to get this train the HELL OUT OF HERE."

Soldiers board the train

"What's going on?!"

The soldiers take Andrei and Samuel prisoner.

Andrei says "HEY!"

"LET ME GO!"

They drag them off of the train and onto a shuttle that will take them to a main ship.

"Don't struggle."

"She wouldn't want her special guest to arrive harmed.."

DIVIDER

Cormac and Lazuli are eavesdropping from their split cell.

"Yes.. yes."

"He was taken in Sanctorio."

Cormac says ".."

"Lazuli."

"LAZULI."

"Did you hear that?!"

"We trusted them so much, I-"

Cormac says "I'm so confused"

Carbonado gets ushered out of the room by seemingly important men.

Lazuli says "What's going on?!"

They hear outside the door "Yes, the Mandragora has assembled above Orientalis."

Cormac says "What's the Mandragora?"

Lazuli says "It's the Genian flagship."

"Used for their deep space voyages.."

Cormac says "So.."

"They've captured Andrei.. and at the same time are preparing a DEEP SPACE CARRIER?!"

"THEY-"

"Where are they taking him?!"

"We need to go."

He walks towards her to grab her hand.

Lazuli says "WAIT!"

"STOP!"

"Careful.."

Cormac says "Right.."

"Let's go."

They exit in the corridor, seeing many soldiers rush through the halls in their troops.

Attention all personnel. Head to your launching stations.

Ruby says "Guys.."

"It's going to hell.."

"TERAPRO has never had to arm for combat before.."

Cormac says "Huh?!"

Lazuli says "Oh.. my head.."

Cormac says "We need to get a shuttle."

"Now."

Ruby says "They're all gone."

"But there's still escape pods."

Cormac says "We need a controlled flight."

"To the assembling fleet."

Ruby says "Uhh..."

"I know."

"We need to head to the communications sector."

They head to comms.

Ruby says "Ok.."

"Patching in."

"Asophania."

"Asophania."

"Are you there?"

Asophania says "This is ACREDEVRO. Speaking?"

Ruby says "This is Ruby."

"I am asking a favor."

Asophania says "Right away."

It cuts out.

Cormac says "Wh-"

Lazuli says "How do they know what you mean?!"

Ruby says ".."

"Don't worry.."

"This world works in mysterious ways."

A shuttle arrives next to the comms tower.

Cormac says "The hell?!"

They get on.

"Hello."

Ruby says "You guys remember Amelie right?"

Cormac says "Of course."

"Good to see you again.."

Amelie says "I came as fast as I could."

"I heard my brother was taken.."

The shuttle takes off

"Where we headed?"

Cormac says "The assembling Genian fleet."

Amelie says "WHAT?"

"ARE YOU INSANE?!?!"

She checks the GPS.

"They've already begun their warp process."

They warp closer to the fleet, which has a hyperspace barrier around it.

They see the huge ships in front of them, some over 10km long.

Amelie says "Holy sh-"

A barrage of laser fire starts shooting at them.

The fleet of ships starts firing at their shuttle.

The shield begins to weaken.

Cormac says "AGH!"

They see the huge engines of the ships grow brighter.

Amelie says "They're accelerating."

She does another small warp jump bringing them up right next to a ship.

They narrowly miss crashing into the side of the Mandragora, the main ship.

Ruby says "Oh my god.."

Lazuli says "You need to find a landing bay."

Amelie says "I'm TRYING!"

Another large ship begins moving horizontally to close in on the shuttle by sandwiching it between two ships.

Lazuli says "Down there!"

She points at a landing bay.

The other ship draws closer.

Cormac says "IT'S GOING TO CRASH!"

Lazuli says "The Mandragora can sustain a lot."

"If they're purposely doing this.."

"They really don't want us here."

They land on the landing pad that clings to the outside of the ship.

The ramp lowers.

Amelie sees the other ship about to smash into them.

Amelie says "RUN!!!!!!"

They run down the landing pad and into a blast door.

The door closes.

There is a huge crashing sound, followed by explosions and alarms.

The wall dents inwards.

The lights go off.

Amelie says "The system's blown.."

Warning.

High security prisoner in - ADMIN Control at risk of compromise.

"We need to get up there th-"

There is a thud on the wall.

An arc of melted metal begins to appear.

Cormac says "They're cutting down the door.."

Lazuli says "..."

"No they're not.."

"They're going to-"

She rushes to the wiring box and fiddles around with the wires.

"A..........HA!"

The door swings open.

Lazuli says "Go."

They rush out into the corridor.

A low rumble shakes the whole ship.

Cormac says "They're preparing to jump to hyperspace..."

Target acquired.

"Huh-"

A gas fills the corridor

Ruby drops to the floor

Cormac says "RUBY!"

"I..."

"I.........."

".........."

DIVIDER

Welcome, Cormac.

"Huh?!?"

.

..

...

....

.....

......

.......

He awakes in the bridge.

They are travelling through hyperspace.

He sees many Genians in martial arts uniforms working the ship, and a tall, elegant geisha.

In a tank of what looks like ice lays Andrei's body.

He looks to the other side of the room to see his captured friends as well, except Ruby.

They exit hyperspace abruptly.

They see a big red dot in space ahead of them.

The lady says "Protocol Three-Fiver-Sixer-Beta."

"Hold back. Only the Mandragora can proceed."

The red dot grows brighter.

As they approach, it would periodically dim before glowing a bright purple, then fading back to red.

Cormac tries to speak, but he can't.

The red dot has grown big enough to be seen.

It's a star.

The lady says "Good morning. We arrive on the behalf of Gensokyo."

Cormac hears a faint voice reply on the radio.

"Good morning to you, my lady."

"Expect us in... say..."

"Give me three minutes, hmm?"

"Reporting for duty."

Cormac feels his vision go blurry.

Something is trying to make him forget...

He shakes off the urge.

But he still cannot speak.

"Okay."

"Begin to wake him up."

A defrosting sound can be heard.

The star grows bigger in their field of view.

A servant comes rushing in

"My Queen."

"Izumo has sent a message of their gratitude."

She replies "How lovely of them."

"Write back." The servant pulls out a notepad "Tell them... Tell them not to mention it, and that I look forward to a secure- no, I mean a robust future partnership together."

The servant bows before leaving.

They are almost at the star now.

As they approach, a dark hole in the star grows, large enough for the ship to pass through.

The ship enters the star.

Cormac expected to see a fiery hell.

Instead he sees a folded landscape.

The workers rejoice in it's beauty.

The geisha walks down to the front of the bridge and stares out.

They see a city on many floating islands taking up the middle of the inside of the star.

The ship accelerates and approaches a castle that overlooks the city.

They see wisps connect seemingly many people across the city like back on Yata and Theia.

And they see an unconnected wisp fluttering from the castle.

The lady says "I see it."

Andrei begins to wake up.

A glow emanates from the castle, and also from Andrei.

"It is occurring.."

The bridge detaches from the ship as a smaller ship.

It flies down and lands on a landing pad.

They see a young man, around Andrei's age, walk down the hundreds of steps down the castle to the landing pad.

And their wisps connect.

Cormac jumps in shock

He bangs on the bars

But cannot speak.

Andrei gets up, and begins walking out

Cormac pleads silently

Andrei says "...."

The geisha follows him out.

Leaving Cormac with a clear view.

Andrei says "Is uh.."

"There some kind of mirror here?"

"Except that my reflection isn't talking.."

"Or... walking the same.."

.......

"Or.."

"Or....."

He falls to his knees

............................

"Sanmor.."

....

Sanmor says "Space."

"Time.."

"Castrovalence..."

"Chance...."

"Luck..."

"Death...."

"Sorrow...."

"Remorse..."

"GUILT.."

"SUFFERING."

Andrei says "I-"

Sanmor says "All you ever lived against."

"All that could have changed..."

"Life."

"Happiness...."

"Resolve...."

"A..."

"Good life..."

"You don't understand."

"And you NEVER WILL."

Andrei's vision goes blurry, as Sanmor tries to make him forget.

Andrei says "AGH!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sanmor says "Feel the pain."

"You live a good life. You become me."

"You life a bad life. You become me."

"Andrei."

"No matter who you were, who you are, or who you will be."

"You will become me."

"No matter the path you take, the way you get there.."

"OR HOW MUCH YOU SO DESPERATELY TRY TO STOP IT."

Andrei says "WHO EVEN ARE YOU?!"

Sanmor says "I am you."

"From all timelines."

"You're just the anomaly."

"And I learnt one thing."

"It's not Asophania keeping my plans from failing."

"It's you."

"I thought it was ASOPHANIA ALL ALONG that was stopping me from becoming overlord of this timeline."

"But it was you."

"You're just a paradox."

"An error."

"And once you're gone.."

"There's nothing stopping me."

Andrei notices they are wearing the same clothes.

He notices Sanmor has a revolver in his pocket.

He reaches for his pocket knife, pulling it out

Andrei says "You're going to kill me, hmm?"

"I'm just the error?"

"The paradox?"

"I'm the one thing keeping good alive."

"It's a hellscape out there."

"Red Leader..."

"And you know that very well."

"And I know you're not going to give up so easily."

He passes his pocket knife to his other hand.

Sanmor draws his gun slowly.

Sanmor says "This is where it ends."

He fires, but Andrei dodges.

Andrei says "You're just like me, though."

"A fool."

"You're unintuitive, you cling to others.."

"Yeah."

"You cling to others."

"We're leeches."

"Without Cormac, I'm nothing."

"And without... oh... NIHILANTIS."

"WHAT ARE YOU?!"

"YOU'RE NOTHING!"

The geisha watches worryingly.

Cormac stares, almost crying.

A huge pulse of energy explodes from Andrei and Sanmor as the link grows stronger.

The cages holding Cormac and his friends shatter open.

But he cannot speak.

They run out of the ship but the geisha repels them back.

They watch nervously.

Sanmor prepares to shoot again.

Andrei stabs his right hand with the pocket knife.

"AAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

Sanmor feels the pain too, dropping the gun.

Sanmor drops the gun suddenly.

Andrei runs towards him.

Cormac screams, but nothing comes out.

Lazuli says "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

Andrei says "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"NO MORE. NO MORE. NO MORE."

He lunges at the distracted Sanmor, exploding.

The star begins to shatter.

Andrei and Sanmor are nowhere to be seen.

There is just a mess of blood and guts.

Cormac falls to his knees, crying.

The geisha uses her powers to repel them back into the ship, and the door closes.

The ship takes off as the sky begins to fall down upon them.

The ship escapes falling debris as the star collapses.

They escape through the hole, and reattach to the rest of the big ship.

The lady says "PULL BACK. PULL BACK."

The ship begins to reverse backwards quickly, watching as the star implodes on itself, forming a gargantuan black hole.

The ships warp into hyperspace back towards Yata.

Cormac still cannot speak.

Lazuli says "HE-"

"He-"

The lady says "It is done."

"Nothing is in his way now."

Lazuli sees Cormac in extreme tears.

He gets up suddenly, and runs towards Lazuli.

Lazuli says "No..."

"Nonono... what are you doing?!"

She backs up into a corridor.

Lazuli says "Oh my god... nonononono.."

"GET AWAY!"

"DON'T!"

She begins running and Cormac chases her.

The lady lets out a burst of energy, tripping them both up.

However, a glowing red figure enters the room.

The lady's attention switches, and she begins chasing this red figure down a separate hall, leaving only Amelie in the control room.

Amelie begins chasing Cormac.

Amelie says "STOP! STOP IT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

She hears no response.

Lazuli is stopped by a blast door.

She puts her hands out and fires a bolt of blue energy, which trips Cormac over.

She manages to hotwire the door, and it opens.

She connects a mobile device to the ship's systems.

As she runs, she closes doors behind her.

Amelie catches up.

Amelie grabs Cormac's shoulders.

Amelie says "STOP!"

"DON'T DO THIS CORMAC."

"DON'T!"

Cormac wrestles her off, and grabs her neck.

Amelie says "LET ME GO!"

"LET ME-"

He smashes her head against the wall repeatedly.

Enough so it dents the wall.

He leaves her for dead, and continues to pursue Lazuli.

Lazuli connects to a radio.

"I NEED THE SECOND IN COMMAND TO DOCK TO THE POSTERIOR DOCKING PORT."

"ENGINES ARE OFF. I REPEAT ENGINES ARE OFF."

"THIS IS URGENT."

Copy that.

Cormac increases his pace

Lazuli turns a corner suddenly, taking a detour.

Lazuli gets into an elevator, and the door closes behind her.

She hears banging on the doors.

She slides down in the corner, crying.

She dials a number.

Ring ring.

Ring ring.

"Hello?"

"H-h-hello."

"Lazuli are you okay?!?!"

"Carbonado.."

"They fo-found...."

"Andrei's link.."

"They blew up.."

"This... big red star.."

"It got... eviscerated... Andrei's dead... he's dead..."

"No.."

"Nihilantis."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?!?"

.......................

...........................

"Cormac is hunting me down.."

"He's going to kill us both.."

"What do I do.."

"I've called the second ship over and I'm going to cross over.. but what then?!"

"What are we going to do?!"

"Over here.. we're already establishing interim governments."

"But.."

"I don't know."

"Get out of there, Laz."

"Ple-"

It hangs up.

The elevator dings.

She gets up.

"Come on.."

"One last run.. just one more time.."

"One last run."

The doors open, and she hears the other elevator ding too.

She starts sprinting down the corridor.

WARNING. WARNING. DAMAGES TO PORT SIDE SEVERE.

There is an explosion, and they are both knocked to the floor.

"AGH!"

She gets up and keeps on running.

She enters a storage area.

She does a wall run, getting higher ground and climbing up the huge shelf boxes.

Her vision goes blurry.

"It's Nihilantis."

"Run, Lazuli."

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD."

"LAZULI. JUST RUN."

"YOU NEED TO RUN!"

She jumps over the shelves as Cormac finishes climbing.

She swings on a metal pole and smashes through a window into another hallway.

There is a thud.

The ships have docked.

She races through a busy office.

Soldiers stare at her confused.

"GET HIM AWAY!"

The soldiers begin shielding the path.

But Cormac pushes them all out of the way.

And he screams.

Tears run down Lazuli's face.

Her legs grow weak, she grows tired, but she keeps on running.

"RUN!"

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

Cormac screams... but says nothing.

Lazuli turns and reaches the final corridor.

The dock is in front of her.

"Run."

She sprints down the corridor as fast as she can

Explosions threaten to knock her off her focused path.

Cormac speeds up.

Doors swing open and soldiers get out, but Cormac pushes them out of the way.

Lazuli says "PULL BACK! I'M ALMOST THERE!"

The ships begin uncoupling.

"I CAN DO IT!

"I'LL MAKE IT!"

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

She reaches the dock.

The gap between the doors widen.

She jumps....

But she staggers over the edge.

She turns around.

Cormac says "No more.", having firmly grasped her hand.

A gargantuan explosion rips the two ships apart.

Her phone is blasted into outer space.

The explosions cause a huge knock-on effect and the entire fleet explodes.

Their remnants fall into the growing black hole.

The phone begins to ring.

DIVIDER

Carbonado says "Pick up.."

"Lazuli.. pick up the phone.. please.."

"I know you're on the other ship,,"

"You probably collapsed from exhaustion.."

"You must have run so fast."

"I know what you've done.."

"But you have to talk to me.."

"Tell me you're okay.."

"Pick up..."

"The goddamn... phone..."

"Please..."

"Please............"

Emerald bursts into the room.

Emerald says "We have a message from the UN."

"Castrovalence has dropped below zero."

Carbonado sniffles, having been crying, "What.."

Emerald says "Our timeline.."

"It's... escaping the multiverse as we know it.."

"Entropy.."

"Red leader..."

Carbonado's phone stops ringing.

An officer enters the room.

"Sir."

"We have lost contact with the Genian fleet."

"We can only assume it has been destroyed."

Carbonado says "..."

"He did it."

"That son of a bitch."

"He killed her."

"And Amelie."

"And Samuel."

"And HIMSELF."

"AND ANDREI'S DEAD."

"THEY'RE ALL DEAD."

"AND NOW FOR EACH.... INDESCRIBABLY SMALL UNIT OF TIME..."

"HE'S COMING CLOSER."

"BECAUSE OUR UNIVERSE... IT'S VULNERABLE."

"WITH NO MULTIVERSE, WHAT IS THERE TO PROTECT US?!"

"HE'S GOING TO COME BACK."

"AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE OUT HERE."

"Cormac... oh my god.."

"IF YOU WERE STILL ALIVE, I'D MAKE SURE YOU'D BE DEAD ANYWAY!!!!!"

"YOU SON OF A-"

Carbonado's phone rings.

The room goes silent

He wipes away his tears, picking up the phone

He clicks answer.

"Hello?"

"It's Lazuli."

"All I remember..."

"The pain.."

"The fire.."

"Him."

"You're alive?!"

"Y-yes.."

"But.."

"I don't know whether it's your definition of alive."

"Look."

"I've only been able to explore for only a few hours."

"But if I am where I think I am.. I've studied this."

"Go to Asophania."

"And I need you to tell them Zirnec is here."

Carbonado says "You... what."

"I'll... talk later."

He hangs up

"Nihilantis.."

"He saved them."

"I know where they are.."

"The world inbetween."

"A dimension where the erased go."

"I only know one person who knows about this place."

"They work in ACREDEVRO."

"Let's..."

"Let's give them a call."

Ring ring.

Ring-

"Hello?"

"Isla, is that you?"

"Only people I trust know that."

"Confirm yourself,"

"Carbonado. Is this ILCADOS?"

"Hello, Carbonado."

"Good, good."

"Get a meal, get a drink."

"Ring me again once you're done."

"We have a lot to talk about."

DIVIDER

Gensokyo says "You'll see..."

"You'll see."

The barrier raises once again.

Macanaland says "NO YOU-"

"..."

Chapter 3

"Hey, Isla."

"You got something to eat?"

Down the phone, Isla responds "Yes."

"Okay. Good."

"I need everything you can get on Dimension Aleph I."

Isla says "Aleph I?"

"Huh."

"I think I wrote everything down in the files, no?"

"Did you check?"

Carbonado says "The ILCADOS system is long destroyed"

"After all, you were only rescued after it happened."

"The... the insurgency I mean."

"Yeah. My memory is still a bit fuzzy.."

"Yeah. You were locked in stasis on the-"

"Oh my god."

"I- Can you get to TERAPRO?"

"When?"

"In like... now?"

"The teleporter should be online right now.."

"I can hear it going off like crazy, ahaha."

"The global cooling after the insurgency kinda made Denasola.... shift a bit."

"So like... everything but ACREDEVRO-"

"Is sinking."

"Yeah."

"So they're all wanting to teleport out?"

"Easy way out..."

"Fair enough."

Carbonado hears a rumble on Isla's side.

"Agh.."

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I moved the table when i flinched.."

"Damn food is hot."

"Oh."

"Well can you get here?"

"I'll head straight there."

He hangs up

"Nihilantis.."

"I don't know what you did.."

"Or why you did it.."

"But I'm forever thankful.."

"And I know you're vulnerable now.."

"Run."

"Don't let them taint you.."

He gets up and heads to the morgue.

DIVIDER

Lazuli walks through the blackness of the realm.

She enters a room with a fountain, but only a fountain.

Everything else is so black it is completely indistinguishable from each other.

Andrei and Cormac are there too.

Cormac distances himself from the other two, shaken by what had happened.

Lazuli says "I made contact, this time."

"We can get out.."

"Now it's just a matter of when."

Andrei says "You seem really underwhelmed."

Lazuli says "So do you.."

"I'm never this down... not since we arrived here."

"And I've had a... raging headache since we arrived."

Ring ring..

Ring ring.....

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me again."

"Oh hey. It's Carbonado on the phone, guys."

"Put me on speaker."

"Put down the phone."

"I'll be talking for a while."

"Okaaaaaayyyyyyyy.."

...

Carbonado says "I looked at the conscience echoes from the Mandragora."

"A conscience echo is something only gems like me... or elementals can see."

"So I can see what they saw."

"In their last moments.."

"I saw this... geisha."

"And Ruby..."

"It was Ruby, wasn't it?"

"She was... chasing this lady around.."

"Then they went into the left corridor."

"And..."

"I was watching Amelie's echo.."

"I saw her chase Cormac chasing Lazuli.."

"Then...."

"Is Cormac there?"

Lazuli says "yes."

Carbonado says "You killed her."

"When her life had only just begun.."

"You KILLED HER."

"And it wasn't even some supernatural force.."

"You chose to chase Lazuli."

"To be annihilated."

"Because you wanted to be with Andrei.."

"And you wanted nothing to get in your way.."

"And you killed her. She was in your way."

Andrei says "What the-"

Carbonado says "And Samuel too."

"I had to tell Oliver that he died."

"IMAGINE HAVING TO TELL SOMEONE EVERYONE HE LOVED IS DEAD."

"ISAAC IS DEAD."

"SAMUEL IS DEAD."

"AND NADIA IS DEAD TOO. ROTTING."

"You took away all he had."

Lazuli says "Carbonado, stop."

Carbonado says "How many more lives are you going to take until you get your dream?"

"HUH?"

Lazuli says "STOP IT!"

Carbonado says "HOW WOULD ALDREN FEEL?"

Cormac stands up and smashes the phone

Lazuli says "WHAT YOU-"

He stands there, hyperventilating

Lazuli says "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

DIVIDER

Carbonado says "The signal cut out.."

Isla says "Goddamn..."

"..."

"So you were going to tell them...?"

Carbonado says "That Ruby and that geisha went another way."

"I never found their echo."

"So they're not dead."

Isla says "..."

"Oh."

"So where did they go?"

......

DIVIDER

Sycoryo says "Is that a shooting star?"

"...."

"Who am I kidding..."

"No one's there."

The shooting star grows bigger.

"Okay... maybe not.."

It suddenly grows bigger, and there is a flash of light, followed by a crash.

It was an escape pod..

Out falls Ruby and the geisha.

Ruby says "Oh no..."

"I don't think this is Yata.."

The geisha says "No."

"How did we even get HERE?"

"This is-"

...

Sycoryo says "...Alana.."

Ruby says "Who's Alana?"

He despairingly points at the Geisha.

"A...Alana..."

He falls to his knees.

"PLEASE!"

"PLEASE LET ME GO!"

He begins levitating.

Ruby says "What..."

The Geisha extends her hand, as if she is lifting him with telekinesis.

She crushes him into a ball of energy.

It sprouts into a portal.

Ruby says "..."

The Geisha enters the portal, closing behind Ruby.

DIVIDER

Carbonado says "I'm getting messages from the SDS..."

"They... reading it out 'urgently require TERAPRO's assistance in containing SDS-001.'"

"Again?"

Ring ring

Carbonado says "Hi, yes, SDS."

"Which proposal are we talking about?"

Carbonado gives Isla a blank stare.

Shocked, he hangs up.

He sits down, shaking.

"Isla."

"Do you remember the Queen of Tritonia?"

Isla says "Alana."

"Right...?"

Carbonado says "I have good news and bad news."

"The good news is Ruby is alive."

"The bad news is.."

"She's back."

"Back where she shouldn't be."

"We need to act quickly."

"We need passage to Yata."

Isla says "Why? What's happening?"

Carbonado says "Nonono.."

"Why was she in stasis.."

"And why did the YOMTACHS HAVE HER?"?"

"Oh.."

Isla says "What is it?"

Carbonado says "Yata used to have elementals."

"There were only a few main ones.."

"The only one that has any kind of significance in history is the Yetai."

"But they were all... bred out."

Isla says "So what is the deal with... the dead being raised her- SHE'S RAISING THE DEAD."

Carbonado says "I fear the worst too."

"What can we do?"

Isla says "AHAHHA..."

"YOU'RE ASKING ME?!?!?"

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?"

Carbonado says "I never anticipated this.."

Isla says "I don't understand any of what you're saying.."

"Whatsoever."

"I don't understand any of this."

DIVIDER

The geisha flies above Palladia.

Floating rather majestically, she glides onto the ground.

She kneels down in a meadow near the city.

And with her fist, she strikes the ground.

A huge earthquake shakes Palladia.

Palladia says "AAAAAAA"

"AAAAAA HELP HBTLELHGEPHLPELHPL"

Tritonia says "What is it?!"

Palladia says "EARTHQUAKE EARTHQUAKE"

"WHY-"

"NONONONONONONOONONO GET HERE RIGHT NOW"

Tritonia says "WHAT IS IT?!"

Palladia says "YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE ME."

After the earthquake ends, Tritonia looks in Palladia.

Tritonia says "...."

"Zombies."

"There was an earthquake... now there's zombies."

The geisha's scream echoes across Palladia.

"COME BACK TO ME............."

"COME BACK TO ME MY DARLING......"

The zombies roar and begin attacking any human they see.

She circles around the city as more zombies raise from the ground.

"WHY DO YOU NOT ARISE?"

"WHY?!"

"MY DARLING..."

Palladia says "Who is she on about?"

Tritonia says "I was told by the SDS..."

"That's... Alana."

"Or some form of her..."

"She's raising the dead..."

Palladia says "Why?"

Tritonia says "She's looking for her beloved."

"Aldren. Tremar."

DIVIDER

Lazuli says "GODDAMN YOU CORMAC!"

"HOW ARE WE GOING TO COMMUNICATE NOW?!"

He does not respond.

Lazuli says "WE'RE STUCK HERE."

"FOREVER."

Cormac says "OH, THEN I'LL PUT BOTH OF US OUT OF OUR MISERY THEN."

Cormac grabs Andrei.

Andrei says "G-GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME-"

He dunks him in the fountain.

Cormac says "HUH?"

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT LAZULI?"

Lazuli says "STOP IT!"

"IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT WE'LL BOTH GO."

He lifts Andrei's head up.

"YOU HEAR THAT ANDREI?!"

"WE'LL BE TOGETHER. FOREVER."

He bludgeons Andrei's head against the fountain.

The water turns a diluted red.

He then jumps into the fountain face-first while holding Andrei down.

Lazuli says "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

She pulls them both out the water.

Only Cormac resists.

She stands back.

"IM SORRY."

She fires a bolt of energy which repels all the water around the room.

Defying gravity, the water sticks to the floor, walls and the ceiling.

Cormac moans in pain.

Lazuli says "..."

She runs to Andrei.

She checks his pulse.

".........."

"You... you..."

"You...."

Cormac runs off into the void.

"You........"

"......you.."

"Murderer."

DIVIDER

Andrei wakes up.

Carbonado says "Hey."

"You've come to."

Andrei says "Huuuhhh...."

Carbonado says "When Oliver found you... you should have seen the look on his face."

Andrei says "The... the last thing I remember.."

"Cormac killed me."

Carbonado says "In fact..."

"I can detect your echo."

"Huh.."

"Your death is speaking to us.. as we speak."

"Take a look."

They watch the footage of his last moments.

"Cormac tried to kill himself too."

"Like as if he knew if you both did the same thing.. you'd both end up in the same place."

"But Lazuli stopped him."

"She knows, doesn't she?"

Andrei says "Knows what?"

Carbonado says "She knows how you really feel about Cormac."

Andrei says "He..."

"I love him.."

Carbonado says "He killed you."

"He killed you to be with you."

"HE KILLED OTHERS TO BE WITH YOU."

"And not just some fake death like yours.."

"Real people died real deaths."

Andrei says "I need a moment."

He storms to his room down the corridor.

Oliver follows him.

Oliver grabs his hand.

Oliver says "Hey... what's up?"

Andrei says "Something has happened,."

"And I don't know what.."

"But I will find out."

"And when I do.."

"I'm going to kill him."

Oliver says "Stop.. just think.."

Andrei says "I'm so... so sorry about Samuel.."

Oliver says "It's not your fault."

"It's Cormac's fault."

Andrei says "Y-you're right.."

They embrace.

"It'll be okay..."

"It'll be okay.."

Oliver says "Yeah."

"Crazy geisha lady may be raising the dead right now.. but it'll all be okay."

Andrei says "Huh."

"Why is she raising the dead."

Oliver says "Because she's Queen Alana."

Andrei freezes.

He flashbacks to the pink engine.

Aldren says "Wait.."

"I found something else.."

....

"Alana.."

He flashes back.

Oliver says "Huh?"

"You good?"

Andrei gulps.

Andrei says "Yeah."

"I'm good."

"......."