Endgame

"We kill whatever comes into these cells. We were not joking when we said that would be the last time we asked." With a moment's hesitation, two Executioners launch their blades, the wicked weapons gliding through the gaps in between the bars. They simply move too fast for either of the heroes to dodge, the blades plunging into their bodies. A loud crack is heard and a shower of splinters jets out as Erdathcath is impaled, and a malignant clicking can be heard as the blade pierces through Jeaux. As they retract the blades, both of them collapse... dead, involuntarily. "The remaining of you: OPT. NOW.

I shoot the Undead Scorpion and then the Undead Reindeer.

Slightly more realistic situation: "Opt." *shoots Karie before she can even respond*. Karie wouldn't have even gotten to pull off an "Acting" gag or anything.

There were no actual severed bars - the head executioner managed to angle his spear-esque weapon in a way that the blade glided in between the gaps of the bars instead of through them. Thus, Johon gives the solid steel bars a solid kick, his foot buding instead of the bars. The Executioners give a slight chuckle. "We appreciate the comedy, but this is the last time we will ask: Opt."

"The nightmare started across the world about 9 months ago... It only spread to Eubric about two weeks ago." The metallic shuffling grows louder and louder, vague shadows of some horrible creatures dancing across neighboring cells. Heavily armed and heavier armored executioners pierce through the suffocating smog, and to the party's horror, their soon to be executioners were not, in fact, Oculoids... ...But proggs. While the other Proggs atleast looked safe enough, if a little bit odd, these Proggs were nothing short of sinister. A aura of pestilent smoke surrounded them, their thick shell gnarled and jagged. The weapon they heaved around beared semblance to giant spears, able to tear and rend through anything they could. Instead of having two claws, one had lenghy saw-like fingers, perfect for grabbing prey. Even their tails were eldritch, having a barbed grabber instead of a spike. "Opt." Somehow, the Executioner had managed to fill that one word with a lifetime of contempt. The faceless figure sputters, backing into the corner like a terrified animal. "I-I'm sorry, with these delusional people around I didn't have the time to-" Suddenly, the barbed tip of the lead Executioner's spear jets off with a horrifying hiss, blasting off like a harpoon. It slides through the bars expertly and pierces through the stomach of the faceless man. Blood spurts out from the wound as he topples to his knees in shock. With a flick of his wrist the blade retracts back through the prion bears, clicking back into position. The barbed tip rips through the fellow prisoner again as it returns to its weilder, and the featureless man crumbles to the left - dead. With the "insolent" prisoner disposed of, the Executioners turn to the other heroes. "Opt." Death, brainwashed into servitude, or mind controlled into the Reaper's legion - what will the heroes opt for? they each had a very important choice to make...

I down a Nostrum and shoot the Undead Crimson Scorpion.

The faceless figure wheezes out something... "If only this was a dream... If only..." "Hex an entire legion of demons? You're just as delusional as the rest..." "Glimpses of him... Mostly his shadow, really. He's horrifying... He is seven stories tall. He weilds a scythe capable of cleaving through an entire city neighborhood in a single instant... In a single motion, he essentially wiped half the hovels off the map." The faceless figure's featureless facade contorts into an image of anger, his raspy voice growing furious. "Why am I... Do you not understand?! It's like your mind is just blissfully unaware of what is going on! We get fed weekly! We are confined only to these tiny concrete cells! We are used as tools of entertainment, tortured, harassed, humiliated and dehumanized just for our captor's sadistic pleasure! Half of us are too hungry to even move, let alone stage an uprising! There is no out... The Reaper has practically stomped out every remnant of human life on Uland. We are all in a death camp, and yet here you are, a random inmate, wondering why we're afraid! You're in denial, Raider... You're in denial..." A metallic shuffling can be heard in the distance. "The Executioners approach... Best have your decision ready for them."

Huh, I really need to get into Final Fantasy, don't I? ALBW is fantastic game though, especially now that you got a 3DS for Grogmas Christmas. It really is interesting to see what influences QMs, though. At this point, the game world has remnants of anything from Norse mythology to the Metal Gear Solid series, and still manages to be perfectly coherent in its own bizarre way.

Sandy, any chance that Arahmin was inspired by Margomill from A Link Between Worlds? They're pretty much deadringers, through I suppose there can't be much variation in a giant eye.

I down a Smelling Salts and chuck my Root Beer. "Good thinking, Erik. Just like old times, huh? Saving kids from a magically moving house?"

"...It was horrific... Thousands of demons poured into the city, inky abominations... His legion swept in, and in less than a single day, decimated all of it. His legion was really just there to pick up the pieces to establish this hellhole, though... The Eternal Reaper hardly needed the back-up. He was plenty capable of tearing through the city on his own. In less than a day, our city went from prosperous to just... Gone. Before, his endless conquest of countires just seemed like a bad dream. We could defend against him. The city had turned in on itself... The Reaper scorched Heroica, and had its ashes swept into the ocean... In the end there was nothing we could do." To Sarge's horror, he pats his thighs for his sheathed scissors - and finds them absent. They were practically defenseless. The faceless figure seems to go into a sudden rage. "Fight? Fight?! We're all starving! They are armed to the teeth, trained, capable of putting an entire cellblock down with a single gesture! And you expect us to fight? Half of us have been practically begging for Decision Day to come! Don't you get it, Raider? We have been driven to the point where we welcome armageddon! Do you not understand what the Reaper's regime has done to us all?!"

"It's incredibly feeble. It can't scratch any of us - we are far more likely to slaughter it with a magic burst or something. I'd be much more comfortable just letting it get killed in the collateral, rather than risk even touching it... But that is the party leader's call, I suppose.

I was about to respond to Noel's arrogant remark when the taxidermied creatures sprung to life. Dozens of red glowing eyes flooded the room, all hissing malignantly. "Nnnrgh. First order of business, nobody target that canary! Second order of business... I have a plan. it is risky, but if these old bones can pull it off... Two people hasten themselves, and on their second turns, one hastens me, and another makes me lucky. If we have any luck, I'll be able to assassinate several of these things right out the gate."

"Unfortunately, no matter what, if you opt out of death, they will brainwash the free will out of you. Either way, your body dies... Or your mind does."

All will be clarified before the end!

"When the Reaper manages to find all and jail all of the humans in one area, Decision Day comes the night after... All humans are faced with three choices: They may either be slaughtered, brainwashed into their legion, or brainwashed and sold into slavery. The Executioners are making their rounds now... They will be at our cellblock within the hour. I'm not sure what to opt for yet, honestly..." The faceless figure retreats into a corner, wrestling with the demons inside of him. He enters a silent hysteria, clearly panicking.

I assure you all 81 will make more sense when you read the actual sidequests. (peaking of which, B&P, would you like me to send you the transcript for one, or would you rather RP this one not knowing its predecessor?)

"How confused can you individuals possibly be?! This is Eubric!" The party glances out from the bars of their prison cell to see what horrible city awaited them outside. It was nothing like the Eubric they once knew. The once bustling city was now cold and dead, no evidence of the previous city remaining. A thick, inky smog hung over the entire city, smothering both the sky and the world below. The wooden buildings of before were now just detritus, hastily swept aside into trenches, along with the rest of the waste from the operation. Prisons like theirs dotted the area, arranged in rigid rows and aisles. Inside the oppressing grid stood hundreds of faceless figures in their cells, all eerily identical to their cellmates. Hundreds upon hundreds of dark figures skulked about from row to row, not even bothering to pay their captives any attention. The world was unbelievable - none of it seemed even real. Colors twisted and bended, some things as clear as day while others painfully obscure - It all seemed like ink on a canvas, a twisted world made by a madman. The last thing they could remember was being put to sleep by Iris - if she wasn't behind these visions, who was? "The Eternal Reaper... How could you not know him?! He rules this realm with an iron fist... I've heard that this is the third continent he has done this to." "...Iris? Jetorix? What are you talking about? Do you not get what ordeal you're in?! Today is Decision Day!"

The cell was as well fortified as it was gloomy - three floors, one set of extremely durable steel bars, and a solid concrete floor and ceiling. "How do you not know? You've been captured and sent here, you must at least live in the area..."

"Thanks." I sigh. "I'm way too old for this one... But no choice now, huh? You did very well, Noel - I understand that you were a little miffed about having to do it, but I hope you at least became stronger from it."

I lean on one of the many shelves of miscellaneous knick knacks, trying to steady myself. "Signing up for this one was a mistake... I'm too old for this. Anyone capable of healing me?"

The jump between whatever magical dimension this was was, needless to say, unpleasant. I could only grimace as my bony frame was tossed and turned from side to side, only the bodies of my fellow heroes acting as a cushion. By the end i was sore all over, my brittle bones frayed and my body bleeding from the dozens off the box's bludgeons. I cough some blood into the fold of my cloak, and, trembling from the journey, I lift the lid. I look directly at the child. "Hello." However, I failed to realize I was basically a blood-stained trembling undead abomination... I probably looked more monstrous than most of the beats here. I step out, and raise my palms. "We're heroes, kid, we're heroes! Don't worry."

"I figured as much..." I won't ever get rid of these ether cores, will I? "Well, here goes nothing." I step into the overly large box and sit into the corner, practically going into fetal position, making myself as small as humanly possible. "...Well, this is quite an awkward junction. Then again, we've all had some pretty weird exploits, huh?"

I'm hoping around June or so?

"You seem to be under the mistaken impression that we really care about Eubric! Just a speck on the mao, really. The second we take what we need from this city, it essentially holds no meaning or value to us." "Although I must concur, it is a marvelous plan. My children felt the same way." Siri purred "You're one tenth of my age, you arboreal brat. Do not let this fragile human shell deceive you... To be frankly honest, sweetie, I have half a mind to just reach out of this vessel and strangle you myself! Wouldn't that be a sight? Tee hee hee... Here is the wonderful thing about magic, sweetie: It doesn't matter whether or not you want to be enslaved or not. To be bluntly honest, you really have no choice!" Iris shrugs. "Really, your presence here was just a matter of logistics. We needed to draw you to the Royal Pond so we could hijack the Echoes... But we also needed to bring little prince Aquos Jr. back. We couldn't just leave you little mutts unattended, soooo... Yeah. Sorry, hun, you kind of just got caught in our little dance." But enough talk! Less inane blathering, and more brainwashing. Move aside, my young... It's time I finally get to use some power." The Oculoids mindlessly obey their "mother", moving out of her way. The tube they were blocking is revealed, in Solon practically was growling at the sight of what the funnel they were intending on using was labelled: The Homeless Corridor. "How ironic it'll be I who solves this colony's homelessness issue!" The restrained Solon attempts to lunge at Iris, only for the Oculoid's grip around him to tighten. he was practically being strangled at this point... "How dare you, you insidious b-" The Oculoids restraining Solon crackle with electricity, sending a jolt of magic through the regent. Purple streaks of ether course through his body, charring his once pristine white shell. Smoke billows off of him and the Oculoids step back, leaving the Progg steaming and stunned. "Hm. More resilient of a shell than I thought... That seems to be only a surface burn, didn't even penetrate to the flesh. Oh well. Either way, that is no way to talk to your future mistress, young man. I'll be using you as a foot stool soon enough, so I'll let that minor infraction slide." Iris winks at Solon before walking towards the Echoes tube, speaking clearly into it. Her voice was laced with an irrestible vibe, almost like an entire choir speaking as one; even though they weren't even being spoken to, the party can feel iris's works cloud over their minds. Before long, her insidious spells would cloud the minds of every soul in the colony... "People of the Colony! Homeless Proggs. This is Iris speaking. Do not be alarmed - I am simply new management at the Echoes Tower. I would advise you simply stop what you're doing and listen to my words. In fact, you know you're going to do exactly that. You have no desire to do otherwise. Just let my words envelop you like a warm fog... Clouding over your memory, your mind, everything. it feels liberating. Now, ladies and gentlemen of the Colony... SLEEP." The party cannot witness the Progg's collective slumber, but they were certainly experiencing it. They could feel iris's magic snake into their heads, lulling them into a hypnotic rest... "It's lights out for the Homeless Corridor. My team of Oculoids will have them brainwashed in less than an hour." "Impossible...!" Fydelle growls, oddly unaffected. "Oh, really, Fydelle? These heroes seem nice and tired..." Iris's voice suddenly becomes irresistible. "Just let those eyelids close, heroes... heavier and heavier, let them drop... And... SLEEP!" The party obeys the possessed human without delay. Their eyelids feel like lead, growing heavier and heavier with her every syllable. Their muscles intense and they practically collapse in a heap, dropping like a limp puppet. They cannot defy her suggestion, and fall into a deep, demonically induced slumber... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The party returns to a grotesque scene, a veil of clouds seemingly clearing away to reveal a scene all too familiar. They were stuck in the same hellscape as before from their previous dreams... The same dead landscape, dotted with monsters and demons of all types. However, there was one definitive difference from before... They were now inside the prison they were in previously. Although in their previous horrific experience they had gazed in at the prisoner from the outside, this time they shared a cell. The prison was dismal and gloomy, essentially a concrete box. A similar faceless figure cowers in the corner. They seemed to all be sharing the same dream... but how was that possible? "...The Eternal Reaper got you, didn't he?"