savetheearth | PLOT: WISE SNAKE'S EMERGENCE

Entry tags:

PLOT: WISE SNAKE'S EMERGENCE

Who: OPEN.
When: March 9th, Sunday, daylight hours.
Where: The business district of Locke City.
What: An enormous snake monster is pissed.
Warnings: Violence.

[The alien explodes silently - but it explodes.

First in a small cloud of hot (rose-scented) gas - those there to watch its final moments will want to step back.

A ripple in the air pulses - heavily - from where it once was, with absolutely no sound and color, but penetrating force. Anyone standing within two miles of the point of origin will feel a push, with those closest guaranteed to be knocked off their feet and temporarily dazed. Cars swerve and crash. Staff in the nearest office buildings launch into disarray. There’s no shielding from the blast - it can be felt through walls, through structures, in the air, and underground.

And it is felt underground.

The entire business district starts to shake, abruptly, jarred to a stir by some movement. It rises over the span of a long half-a-minute to the magnitude of December’s earthquake.

Tuning Towers experiences the worst of it - windows are smashing and objects are shaking loose and falling from the upper floors.

It finally ends - with screaming - as the head of an enormous pink snake breaks the lobby floor.

It flows its way quickly out of the hole it’s made, breaks itself another hole ever so politely through the main entrance doors, which were not meant to accommodate a twenty-foot-tall-and-wide exitor, and as it draws the last of its tail out after it, the quaking dies down.

It’s now roaring its way through the streets of Locke City’s business district - all several hundred meters of Wise Snake, emerged in the flesh (or stone?).

No regard for the walls of buildings, streetlamps, civilians, stopped and blindly pulled-over vehicles, anything else on its course - in a frantically-awakened, unrestricted rampage.]

[ OOC: This is part two of the Season 1's finale. The first - the assault on the farmhouse - is here; pertinent plot posts one and two. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Akito's feeling pretty sick himself, but he lets the post drop with a rattle and kneels by Siiri.

"J-- just keep holding onto her, okay?"

He takes the opportunity to take off his shades, the bright blue of his eyes even more obvious without the black obscuring them. The wound looks terrible, as could be expected, but he forces himself to keep staring at it, trying to keep the bile down.

C'mon... heal!

It's a slow process. But gradually, the organs torn apart by the pole will begin to reform themselves, the skin growing back into place to cover the gore.

The healing seems even slower inside the world of pain that Siiri is in, but there is nothing better than the feeling of being able to breathe again that happens at one point - it's painful, but her brain, her whole body, latches onto the much needed air as she takes a shaky breath that actually reaches her lungs and is then exhaled again.

And then the healing speeds up, because her body starts to be able to support itself again, the oxygen deprivation and the internal bleeding stopped and the organs slowly returning to how and where they should be. She's still in pain, and there still is little that she can do but lie in Åsa's arms and just breathe, send delicious and painful air into her system, but it's obvious that she's getting infinitely better.

Åsa had no intentions of releasing Siiri, but she nods anyway, watching him. She's shocked by how blue his eyes are, but expects him to do something, well, doctory. It's a surprise when he doesn't seem to do anything, but then Siiri suddenly takes a breath and Åsa's attention is returned to her friend. Relief floods her, and she risks leaning back enough to take a look at the wound, no longer such a mortal wound but instead survivable.

Siiri will live.

There were already tears in Åsa's eyes, but now they start to spill again, this time without the sobs, thankfully. "Thank you" For bringing Siiri back to her, there will never be enough words to thank him enough. For now, she hugs her friend in closer again, holding her tight. "You're on the network?" She asks the boy cautiously. He must be? What other reason could their be for the way he healed her?

He doesn't even get the chance to reply. The longer he stared at the woman, the dizzier he'd felt. But that wasn't a big deal, right? It would go away once he was done, just like last time. He just needed to tough it out until she was healed.

And then, the woman is breathing again, and a small sigh of relief escapes him even as his mind spins. He feels lightheaded - is this what it's like to be low on magic? At this rate, even just standing is going to be a problem...

By the time Åsa speaks to him, he can only give a somewhat dazed nod before he suddenly doubles over, violent coughs wracking his body. He's alarmed to taste something metallic, but the persisting dizziness makes it hard to focus on any one thing.

"Wh--"

He can't even force the question out between coughs, sinking painfully to the ground with one hand to his mouth. It's... wet. Something wet is coming from his mouth. But it can't be blood. He was perfectly healthy. Why would suddenly cough up blood?

Siiri is only starting to regain consciousness as her body tries to cope with not dying anymore, pumping adrenaline through her veins and leaving her shaking and trying to pull herself up, trying to comprehend what happened, what is currently happening.

Somewhere, Åsa notices how distant that nod seems, how he barely seems to be concentrating. She might have pushed it away as exhaustion or distraction.

But then there's coughing and blood on his lips, and for an awful moment she's torn between him and Siiri, and the guilt will eat her up later. But Siiri's shifting so she releases one hand from her so she can support him as well, worriedly looking at that blood. "Stop healing her, now." Her voice is firm, despite her worry. Siiri is in a state where she can survive, she doesn't want him to kill himself continuing. She pulls him in more, encouraging him to lean against her. "Try and breathe."

The pain is enough to make him squeeze his eyes shut. Although the coughing does not grow any worse, they do not get much better - drops of blood escape from his hand and spatter on the ground, and it's entirely likely that if she were not supporting him, his head would be pressed against the cement from the force of them.

His throat burns, and he's too dizzy to focus entirely on what she says, but he's trying mightily to get in a breath between the coughs. Why is this happening? It's like his body is suddenly under siege...

'Don't worry. The sacrifice you're making can be overcome with treatment.'

'Was the sacrifice... me?'

His consciousness is fading fast. Under all of the strain, his mind can do little more than latch onto the new memory as it strikes him.

'Did those bastards know...?'

"...Damn it." He's only barely able to choke out the words before he slumps, the darkness claiming him.

It was sheer luck that Bakura happened to be going by at that moment. He had spotted the small group from above when Akito had started coughing. Exhaustion? Dust from the earthquake? Either way, it was enough to make him pause Diabound's flight above the wreckage to glide down closer.

When Akito had collapsed, however, the leisurely descent quickly changed to a power dive, Bakura jumping down from his still invisible kaa's hand, appearing out of seemingly nowhere as he scrambled over, all but skidding to be kneeling at the teen's side.

"Akito! Akito, hang in there!"

His eye shot up from the collapsed figure to the pair of girls by him. "What happened?" he all but demanded, voice harsh with worry. Hospital. He had to get him--

... and the other girl was looking pretty bad as well...

Fuck.

"Can you carry her? Just a little way," he nodded at the other two, even as he shifted to snake an arm under Akito's unconcious form to haul him to his feet. Had to get them both someplace they could be taken care of!

Siiri is pushing herself up at this moment, only enough to support herself fully, her body still in pain and weak from the injuries, but she has enough strength again just to remove herself from Åsa and Akito, not to go anywhere - she wouldn't have the strength yet - but enough to not be in the way, because while she's completely disoriented she senses that he's hurt and needs help and that there is commotion towards that end and doesn't want to be in the way.

Floweregg, meanwhile, presses against her, scared and still after Åsa told her to, the stench of injury and possible death making her scared. She's not sure what to do, how to act, this has never before happened around her. Her mistress was hurt, still is, and she cannot do anything, nor for this stranger who is hurt too.

There's too much going on, too much to take in. When another voice is added to the chaos, she looks up in surprise and unease, automatically drawing Siiri in closer to her. He seems to know the other boy, though, the one who healed Siiri, and that makes her relax somewhat, taking in a deep breath. "There was a, a sign, and he healed her." Maybe it's not the best explanation, but what else can she give? She's not entirely sure what he did at all.

"I can carry her." Her voice is just a little firmer at that, sure about that at least. And then she adds, more timidly again; "I was told there was a field hospital in a shop." She tries to dredge up what else she was told, but she wasn't paying much attention at the time. There was too much going on as there is now.

Her attention finally moves to Floweregg as she speaks, though, scooping the puppy up and cradling her against her blood soaked shirt. She strokes her fur, nuzzling into her. "Shh, shh, it's okay. Siiri will be okay now. We just need to get her somewhere safe. Sit on my shoulders so I can carry her?" She pushes the puppy up towards them softly, and then reaches out for Siiri, trusting in her new found strength to be able to lift her.

Bakura nodded. "Yeah. Not too far from here," he confirmed, shifting Akito's weight to be mostly on his back, taking a few steps forward before stepping up into Diabound's waiting hand. He pauses a moment before nodding to himself, the giant grey monster hand fading into view just enough so that it can be seen.

"Just need to get her up here, Diabound can take us the rest of the way," he nodded, focusing on the weight of his friend to keep his panic underwraps. "Easier than trying to carry her two blocks..." Better on all their injuries...

The puppy obediently does as she is told, and her owner will simply try to not be heavy on her friend. There is little that either of them can do right now - little than pain and worry and panic that they can feel.

At least someone seems to know what he's doing. The confidence relaxes Åsa at least somewhat, letting her take a breath and refocus. Siiri isn't bleeding any more, they're moving towards safety and someone who might be able to take care of her properly. She's forgotten entirely about the danger and what's going on in the city now, completely refocused.

"Who's Diabound?" She asks, focusing on that rather than the comment about carrying Siiri. She's not actually finding her friend's weight a struggle, what's harder to deal with is trying to keep her steady so she doesn't jolt her and put pressure on her injuries, especially with the ground ruined and uneven. She's clumsy enough when the pavement hasn't been ruined by a giant snake!

"Step up here," Bakura nodded to the hand as he carefully hauled Akito up into Diabound's waiting palm. "Diabound's the giant creature whose hand I'm standing on right now," he nodded again.

There should be room enough for all four of them... Might be a little tight but it would be good enough. And he wanted to keep the other hand free just incase something started to fall...

"My numbers power, if you want to call it that...."

[And then, a good while later, both women and Akito have relocated to Åsa's apartment. The young man is asleep on the bed and Siiri has found a position that doesn't hurt on the couch, sipping some broth very slowly and carefully. But she's been cleared for light food and really needs something in her, so that seemed the best option.

She's still in a state of shock, everything that has happened just was a bit too much.]

[Åsa is still faffing around, trying to find pillows and blankets, tidying a little, putting water and a glass by the bedside for Akito. She wasn't expecting guests today and her flat isn't as tidy as she'd like. But also, sitting down will mean that she'll have to stop and think and she's not really sure she can cope with everything that's happened today.

In the end, though, she runs out of things to do, and with nothing to block out the inevitable thoughts she might as well sit down and hope that talking to Siiri will keep her distracted. She slides her hand over Siiri's arm as she sits down next to her, curling in to steal some comfort from contact.] How're you feeling?

Bett'r. [Horrible, but considering that she was as good as dead... but not dead. Never dead. She is absolutely sure that she should have been dead by the time at which Akito arrived, and yet... she was still around.

Is still around, and she'll assure herself of that by shifting slightly to be able to comfortably pull Åsa against her, arms wrapping around the shorter woman, pulling her in close.]

[Åsa resists the pull, at least long enough to take the soup bowl from Siiri's hands and set it on the coffee table. Then she shifts enough that she can turn, laying her cheek on Siiri's cheekbone lightly, her breath warm against the other woman's collarbone. She can feel Siiri's heartbeat and after a moment of lying still her own starts to echo it. It's oddly calming.]

I'd hope so! [She ignores the urge to lie still and listen to their heartbeats, instead making a comment that's meant to be jokey, a weak smile accompanying it.] I really thought that... [If Akito hadn't come when he did... Åsa doesn't know how Siiri was still alive when he did. But maybe time seemed to last longer because of the situation?] I'm glad you're safe now.

[For a long moment, she just wants to thread her fingers through Åsa's hair - and then just does that, long fingers running deftly through soft hair, much less worry in the gesture than there would be under normal circumstances. She's too shaken, needs this - Åsa's proximity, everything - too much to not give into the urge.

But finally, she speaks, shaking her head slightly.] I should have died. [Not in the sense of wanting to, or feeling that it would have been just or should have happened. But by all logic and universal rules...]

[The touch makes Åsa feel guilty - Siiri shouldn't be the one having to calm her down. Siiri is the one that almost died. But at the same time, it is soothing and comforting, reassuring even, so she doesn't give into the urge to pull away and act like an adult. Let her indulge in long wished for physical comfort for a little while longer. It's been a long time since she was able to relax into someone like this.]

Don't say that!

I lost too much blood and my intestines were destroyed. I should have been dead when Akito showed up.

[The memory is hazy, but even hazy as it is she can tell as much. And even with Åsa in her arms, even able to soak up the warmth and living presence of the other woman, she shudders at the thought. It hurt so badly, the pain and fear and blinding agony was so strong... she doesn't want to think back to it, but at the same time she feels that she has to, she has to understand. This is something about former-her. Something that does not fit at all with the thought of a Viking warrior, at least not of a human one. Because that she did not die... that was not human, and as such it must have been a pulse. But what does that say about former-her? Was her guess that they were from Earth wrong?]

[Tensing further at Siiri's blunt appraisal of the situation, Åsa holds her closer, hiding in her. She won't accept it. Can't. What does that mean? What does it mean about their past? It's too much to take in with everything else that's happened today.]

You're not dead, though, and that's the important thing.

...Does it still hurt?

Less.

[But yes, it still does - the healing and the painkillers have given her some relief, but considering how bad it was she's just glad that she can be touched again without screaming. And while every touch hurts somewhat, she won't mention that for fear of losing the comfort of Åsa being curled up against her.]

That's good. I hope it heals quickly. [Åsa's going to be following Siiri like a lost puppy for a little while, at least until she's sure that it's healing naturally and that Siiri's taking care of herself. Speaking of which...]

Will you need help? [She volunteers to be Siiri's career!]

[She'd never say no to having Åsa around, but... Is that truly what is being asked here? That almost sounds too good.] Maybe.

(no subject)

vaimo - 2014-05-13 11:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

hustru - 2014-05-22 08:44 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only