hadriel_logs | Event Log: End of Arc 2

Entry tags:

Event Log: End of Arc 2

Who: All characters
What: The event log for the End of Arc 2
Where: All over the city
When: November 25th-December 12th
Warnings: A full-scale battle, including character death, NPC death, and various other ways to suffer

It was bound to happen. The Null warned you, after all, and this has been building for awhile - and now it's here. First comes the initial attack, the agents of the Null attacking Hope's temple. Then, an SOS, warning the city of what's happened: a betrayal, and Hope being injured. Luckily for everyone, thanks to the actions of his guards Hope survives the attack. Unluckily, his attacker, the goddess Delight, escapes and lets the Null in.

Flooding into the cave, the Null will attack anyone who they believe is resisting them. They'll destroy buildings and deploy dangerous crowd control weapons, in addition to their sheer strength and speed. Confusion empties the monsters in the tunnels into the city, to help distract the Null. Some gods fight, others provide safe havens, but everyone is in danger.

After about a week and a half of the attack, Fear summons enough power to teleport the city. This stops any new Null from arriving through the tunnels, but the remaining Null must be hunted down and destroyed, or else they'll signal their location to the rest of their species. The danger will lessen as Null are taken out, but things won't really be safe until Fear moves the city again, so don't get too comfortable.

What will you do? Run and hide? Fight? Help the fighters? Turn on the gods yourself? Whatever you do, it's time to make a decision.

► This log covers November 25th-December 12th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you get taken out by the Null, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ignis could have taken that option. He had done nothing to draw the Null's immediate ire... but no doubt he had their attention from the moment he set foot in Hope's temple after Delight's attack. They'd been pursing him quite doggedly since then, and he isn't about to draw them to where people are trying to stay safe.

Philip would get a good show indeed as two of the smaller Null converge on the young man from either side. He hits one across what serves as its head first, and then knocks the legs out from beneath the other with the butt of the spear. It's enough for him to jab the pointed end into the first while it recovers its balance, then to spin around with the thing still attached and pin it to its comrade, skewering them both.

He takes a deep breath, but doesn't appear to have over-exerted himself. The voice - or rather, the uncertain source of the voice - gets his attention far more readily than the somewhat out of place applause.

... A telepath?]

Be my guest.

[A small gesture goes to the two corpses, left in fairly good condition save for the punctures through their cores.]

[ Good, good, so this is going well. Step one, no creatures or robots around to attack him. Step two, this other guy isn't doing it either, which, fair is fair, was probably a possibility under the circumstances.

Philip leaves his cover, and crouches down to start poking at the metal shells. He hasn't given too much thought to this whole idea yet, but people on the network have started talking about using them for parts. If he can wing that, then it's as good an arts and crafts project to kill time as any, and if not? Probably somebody around who'd swap the stuff for something useful. Wait, would the Null themselves want to get back their dead? Not sure he's ready to attempt that sort of alliance just yet.

--Right. That guy. Philip stands up, and reaches into his pocket. Throws the guy a little chocolate-y something. ]

Hey, cheers. I owe you one. Um. One more that is.

[He's seen the talk, but hasn't given too much thought to it. On closer inspection the spear he's using appears to be handmade, and the tip... it certainly a sharp piece of metal sheared off something that used to be far larger. That's the most that Ignis has any use for anything that might come off these creatures, but that doesn't mean he isn't curious.

With the spear lowered and one hand briefly lifting to push his hair out of his eyes, he approaches and--

--catches the thing tossed to him deftly with his free hand. After a moment, he pockets it. He's not entirely adverse to accepting food from strangers, but he'll get to know this one a little better before he trusts anything gained from him.]

You've a mind for what you might do with this, I take it. Beyond simple curiosity.

You'd be surprised how far simple curiosity gets you.

[ Also, how dead. But that's an old story, isn't it. Instead Philip deliberates exactly how much of his half-baked ideas he wants to share. Wouldn't want to risk somebody else getting an appetite for it, before Philip is far away with the spoils.

...Then again, turns out he's not that invested in the whole process just yet. ]

That aside, I reckon they'll be pretty useful, as far as dead critters go. [ Philip nods at the spear. Same sort of material, if he's not mistaken. ] Case in point. Plus, the weapons they use, that'll come in handy, if we can make it work for us. I'd prefer something less hands-on than a spear myself, but I'll see what I can get out of this.

[Ignis listens, briefly considering if it can be called listening, and glances to the spear as attention is drawn to it. Once his daggers had started growing blunt, he'd needed to find another weapon... and this had served him very well so far.

He nudges lightly at one of the fallen Null with the butt of the weapon, rolling it over until the weapon attached to it comes into clearer view. Crouching down, he slides his glasses up slightly to get a better look.]

This wasn't my first choice. [The spear gets a small shake, to illustrate his point.] But these weapons may be useful, if we can turn them on their creators.

[ Wouldn't know it by the way that guy swings the thing. Makes you wonder what he does with the first choice. Yikes. Philip nods along, thinks maybe he won't mention that the Null aren't going to be his target, specifically. ]

--Hey, about that. How come you've decided to fight them? Rather than the gods, that is.

[ He crouches down and starts poking at the parts. Looking for anything that looks connected to their stun abilities. He'd rather not have to lug the whole body down to some lab, if he can avoid it, but then, better that than leaving something vital behind, he supposes. ]

They threatened my friends. I've never taken kindly to that kind of thing.

[Who would? From the first time he laid eyes on that list and saw the names on it - the names of people he cared about - he had somehow known that it would come to this. The Null were never going to be the kinds of 'people' that he could throw his lot in with.

That said, he has no issue with those who aren't fighting the Null for their own safety... or even those who oppose the 'gods', as long as they aren't attacking innocent people.]

At the moment, these things are the greater of two evils. And naturally, due to my opposition to their wish to kill said friends, they are now targeting me as well.

[ Philip hums - doesn't, really, can't make the sound properly anymore, probably sounds like little more than odd breaths, but it vibrates at the back of his throat to make him feel it, at least, if he puts some effort into it. Small nostalgic comfort, every once in a while. He turns the metal corpse sideways, and looks up. ]

The list they gave us, right? Any idea what your friends did to end up on that one?

Resisted.

[And it seems that the Null don't need any more than that to view someone as a target. No matter how small the resistance, they seemed to see it as worthy of hanging death over that person's head.

The gods certainly have their flaws, and he would never say he was on their side, but... This is complicated, and it can't afford to be complicated until the danger is passed.]

The Null have a long list of acts that they consider to be resistance.

[ All right, all right, enough with the endless details. Never mind, at this point it doesn't really matter much anymore, anyway. Since that list isn't likely to be literal though-- Philip exhales a slow sigh, and looks down at the dead Null unhappily. ]

They haven't bothered me so far. Sounds like I can probably kiss that goodbye after scavenging them for parts though.

I couldn't say if they have any particular feelings towards their dead.

[They have a hive mind, sure, so do they value individuality enough to see the loss of one of theirs as anything beyond a loss of resource? It's like killing an MT soldier. They don't care if one of their own drops down in front of them - they just keep coming.]

You may be safe enough, so long as you don't actively attack them.

[ Personally, if it was him, he'd be somewhat miffed if he was slaughtered and then used for parts. Again, personally, if he saw some guy whacking other people with his own severed leg, well, chances are he'd be cross at them, whether or not they were the source of his demise. ]

Could be I'm misinterpreting, but it didn't sound like your friends were as forward about their resistance either.

The Null threat has been present for some time. Enough time for some people to make their allegiances clear.

[Ignis has been purposefully vague. He escaped ending up on the original list, though he'd gained very little from it in the end... Just warning those on it that he counted as his friends doubtless caught the Null's attention.]

Are you resisting them through either words, or deeds, or are you simply scavenging for parts? If it's the latter, I doubt you need to worry.

[ Fair enough. He only caught the tail end of this nonsense. Not enough to get invested. Plenty enough to get annoyed with it. Whatever happened to settling your differences with a civilised game of human murder chess? ]

Well, I'm pretty good at holding my tongue, as you've probably noticed.

[ Harr dee harr hh-- okay, never mind. ]

You're right though, I should be good to go. If I end up shot through the head after all, then I promise you'll be the first to know. For, er, the sake of an accurate record and such.

[Oh, we have a comedian. Ignis presses his lips together just slightly as his only outward show of amusement. Any other time, and he might have laughed.]

Should you be shot in the head, I would consider it a mercy on their part.

[He probably could have reached for a pun, but he really isn't in the right mood for making jokes.]

But, for the sake of... future reference, do feel free to keep me informed.

All right, well.

[ Philip takes off his sweater. He wasn't planning on hell in a short-sleeved shirt, but his clothing is needed as a pull mechanism more urgently than a fashion statement. He ties the two Null to his sleeves, and settles to grab the construction in the middle. Takes a few steps forward. It's a bloody literal drag, but they're moving. ]

Wish me luck. And take care. Ta.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event Log: End of Arc 2

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