DARK ALLIES FINALE LOG

[afterlifer]

WHO: Anyone and everyone!
WHAT: Dark Allies Finale
WHEN: March 22nd-24th
WHERE: Anywhere and everywhere in this afterlife
WARNINGS: Potential violence, loss of sense of self, fighting, cussing. If you have anything else let a mod know to add it!
SUMMARY: The Programmer and Fantoche have increased the number of shadows in order to pursue the NPC, Ai, who has been trying to hide but cannot continue to stand by and do nothing. Meanwhile, many of the afterlife's residents have been turned into NPCs.. is there a way to reason with them or get their memories back? There are 3 parts to this log!

MARCH 22: SHADOWS
Shadows are difficult to deal with, and you've just been surrounded. It seems like the number of shadows have raised up well beyond half of the NPC population. Team up, fight off the shadows, try to follow them to find the NPC first! Ai will be around throughout this log and will reveal her Guard Skill abilities in a comment here. Feel free to attempt to apprehend her.

MARCH 23: THE NORM
A few people have been turned into NPCs. The shadows seem not to bother them-- the shadows ignore them and those turned into NPCs don't even seem to see the shadows. They can see you, even if they can't remember. Try to talk some sense into them or take whatever measures you think are necessary? Try to keep them company or say goodbye because if Ai isn't turned in, there's no known way to turn them back?

MARCH 24: CAPTURED AI
Ai's identity has been revealed since the 22nd, but she's been avoiding capture up until now. Come up with a plan, decide what to do. It might be a good idea to have a meeting and talk to her. She's surprisingly cooperative. The OOC poll revealed that Ai will be kept away from Fantoche and the Programmer, so if any characters have the intent to do otherwise they will not be able to be the ones to find her. Of those who comment, on the 24th the mods will RNG one character to have successfully captured Ai and she will reply to that thread. Other characters or teams may jump in based on what you as the players have decided to do.

Comments

[frequent_flyer]

[He was... conflicted. On the one hand, she hadn't disappeared for good, but... being an NPC was an arguably worse fate. She would never have the chance to disappear like this, trapped here as a student for eternity... just a background character in someone else's adventure.]

[That... No. He couldn't accept that. Yuri is, or was, his leader. He simply couldn't accept the thought of her never moving on, never holding the principal hostage again, never kicking him off the roof again, never... remembering him.]

[Back then, when Yuri had gone alone and nearly been devoured... they'd arrived in time to save her. But not this time. At some point, a shadow had taken her, and it made him nauseous to think of her as helpless, struggling, hoping beyond hope that someone would reach through that darkness and save her.]

[He choked some on the lump of emotion in his throat, clenching his teeth tightly to avoid completely losing it. He should have been there. He should have saved her. He... he let her down. The one thing he'd never wanted to do.]

C-come on, Yurippe... [His voice was weak, trembling as he pleaded with her to respond, already knowing it was pointless.] We have a lot to do, don't you remember..?

[But this time, she wasn't here to pull him away from a lost cause, because the lost cause was her.]

[tenminutes]

[ She looked a little curious as Hinata seemed to get more emotional. She didn't seem to understand, at all. There wasn't anything left of him really left beyond basic recognition because all of her memories and emotions about him were the most painful ones to deal with. She'd been trying to force them down even before she'd been turned, trying to tell herself that it was impossible because she had to protect everyone and she couldn't do that if something happened and she ended up being the cause. Not again.

There was no way that she would be able to exist as an NPC carrying all that, even if Hinata was the thing she managed to hold onto the longest. Because taking her hadn't been an easy task the first time, she knew she had to hold on and someone would come.

No one did, of course. She was all alone, locked away in her tower with no one knowing where to try to save her because her last post was voice, not video. She held onto Hinata, even breaking the illusion twice on the first day, but.. That had been a while ago. It had swallowed her completely by now, buried her so deep down that she didn't even know there was anything wrong by this point. ]

If you mean homework, I don't think it's that much. Hitomi agreed to be my partner for the project too. What's with the sudden interest anyway? You and I literally never talk. This is the first conversation we've had besides a passing hello.

[frequent_flyer]

N-no... [He staggered backwards some, staring at her as if she'd just committed some kind of atrocity, his eyes wide and... scared. It took a moment for it all to sink in, very clearly not taking it well. For days, he'd been trying to come to terms with the idea of never seeing her again, only for her to have been right here all along... or at least an empty shell that looks like her.]

[It wasn't fair, how the world could turn on them like this. Was the Programmer laughing at him? Did he even care?]

How can you be going to classes? Don't you see the shadows!? [Even if they weren't in immediate danger, the shadows were still a concerning enough threat to justify not going to class.] You're our leader! We need you! I- [He stopped himself short, clenching his teeth, biting back his emotions before they got the better of him.]

[tenminutes]

..Shadows?

[ She stares at him for a moment, looking a cross between confused and concerned. ]

We all have shadows, of course I see them. [ She turns so that her back is to the sun now, waving to her shadow, then looking back at Hinata over her shoulder. ]

I'm just a girl, Hinata-senpai. What are you talking about?

[frequent_flyer]

Tch-! [Under any other circumstances, he would find this cute. But as it stands, they have a massive shadow outbreak on their hands and no leader. He knows what they should be doing, they've gone through this enough for him to know, but...]

[He reaches for her, grabbing her shoulders tightly and turning her to face him. His eyes were red, struggling not to completely lose himself to the nauseating dread and hopelessness he felt roiling around inside him.]

Yurippe, snap out of it! [His voice finally cracked under the pressure, trembling in the face of his greatest fear. She... she didn't recognize him. There was nothing human left in those eerily blank green eyes. It... made his skin crawl to look into them, his face contorting in pain as he squeezed her shoulders, teeth clenching as he bit back a sob.] I... I need you... Don't... don't go...

[His head dropped, face obscured by his hair. Slowly, he lessened his grip on her, his hands falling limply to his sides. He drew shaky breaths through clenched teeth, obvious that he was doing his best to rein in a swell of despair so profound that it threatened to swallow him. But there was no one here to stop him. No one to keep him under control. No one to tell him that he'd done enough and pull him away. He was alone with this suffocating realization that... he was powerless to save her. He was too late.]

[This is my fault.]

[tenminutes]

[ She looked surprised when he grabbed her. Yuri could tell that something was going on that was beyond her, but she didn't really get it. This guy was talking on and on about needing her, holding onto her in a way that sort of hurt. Her expression faded to sympathy after a moment. She didn't try to push him away, and he eventually let go on his own.

There was something clearly wrong here, but Yuri didn't think it was something wrong with her. Everything was fine with her. ]

I don't really get it, but it sounds like your princess is in another castle. Whoever this "Yurippe" is, I'm not who you're looking for. I can walk you to the library and we can check the roster to find out where she lives if you need to find her that badly.

[ At least she was trying to help. ]

[frequent_flyer]

[One of those held back sobs escaped as she spoke, backing off to lean up against the nearby wall of the dormitory building. That was exactly the problem, wasn't it? He knew where she was now... she was just beyond his reach.]

[He shook his head rather than speak, looking as if he were going to devolve in sobbing at any moment, sliding down the wall to sit on the ground. He tilted his head back until it bumped against the wall, staring up at the sky through the tears that welled up in his eyes.]

[He couldn't... he just couldn't handle this. Hinata hadn't known a despair this suffocating since... since he was alive. Those feelings of failure and inadequacy creeping into him in a way he hadn't known in years. It was because of her. With her support, he'd been able to move on, to devote himself body and soul to helping her.]

[Without her... how did he carry on? What did he do now? Who would lead them? Would everything they'd worked for start to fall apart?]

[...Would they blame him?]

[In any case, he was staring off at nothing, unresponsive to her offer to help him. There was nothing she could do for him now... Yuri was gone.]

[tenminutes]

[ When he didn't respond, Yuri moved her hands behind her back, holding one wrist with her hand as she leaned forward a little. ]

Hello?

[ It didn't look like he was going to be getting up any time soon, and there clearly wasn't much she could do. ]

Do you want me to call someone for you?

[ If he wasn't going to respond to that, she was just going to physically go. ]

[frequent_flyer]

[For a few minutes, he stared distantly off at nothing in particular, drawn back by her offer to call someone. He snapped out of the haze, blinking a few times before lavender eyes looked up at her.]

[He'd come genuinely close to a breakdown just then, he knew, but... she was just an NPC. She and Hitomi both. Even if they wouldn't remember, it wasn't fair to drag them into his personal dramas. He swallowed thickly, pushing off the ground to a stand, avoiding looking at her directly until he'd taken a deep breath.]

[The girl offering him help was not Yuri, and probably never would be again. He just... needed to accept that.]

...Sorry. You're right. I must... be mistaken. [It was the most flimsy excuse he'd ever made about anything, his voice coming hollow and weak, but shouting and screaming and crying wasn't going to change a goddamn thing, and he was just now starting to realize that.]

[A small, bitter smile managed to find its way to his face, weak as it was. He knew he wouldn't seek her out again, so this might very well be his last chance... He settled one hand on her shoulder, the other gently petting her hair for a moment. His eyes were burning with unshed tears, pinching them shut as he leaned in to kiss her forehead, his voice coming as barely a whisper.] I'll never forget you... my fearless leader.

[He backed off, looking at the ground as he slipped his hands into his pockets, drawing a shaky breath as he walked toward the boy's dorms.]

[tenminutes]

[ After he kisses her forehead, whispering that at her, Yuri just kind of stares after him as he walks off. There's a dumbfounded look on her face for a few moments while Hitomi seems to dip back in to make sure she's alright. ]

Huh? Oh-- Yeah, I'm fine.

[ Yuri glances at his back again, but ends up turning to Hitomi to go walk the opposite direction. ]

Let's go before anything weirder happens.

[ And they're off... ]