Once decisions have been made, Zo climbs up into the crown of the machine. It whirls about, and for an instant, the heart of it opens, where Ruana's mummified corpse sits where it always has been, hidden away. There's a feeling like being pulled--those who are going with friends will be pulled in the same direction, but those parting ways will see the others fade away around them. There's a feeling like floating and then like falling countless miles or maybe countless years-- And then things are okay. You're where you wanted to be. The last imprint of Animus is that of an empty world being torn asunder by a crying child, before that child is finally put to sleep. And now you can go on with your lives, or start new ones.



Maybe a day passes. Maybe a week. Maybe a month. It doesn't matter how long, what matters is that you are, if even for just an instant, alone. A door appears. You can open it, if you want. You can step through it, too--to a Tower that floats in a void. It's only five rooms high, but if you want, you can build it higher with the tools on the bottommost floor. You can make it into whatever you want. And you can go wherever you want.

There's a note on a table on the highest floor--a room filled with countless doors, surrounded by every gift Zo has ever been given, even the last.

If you can see this, I did it! I managed to save a little bit of the Tower. You can do what you want with it, and this floor lets you move between worlds! It takes a little getting used to, but you can even think doors into existence. It might take some work getting each door to go where you want, but you guys can do it!

Please be happy!

Zo

And if you want, you can go.


THANK YOU FOR PLAYING.

Hello, Animus! We hope you've been interested in endgame so far. We're coming up on the end soon. However, as we're sure you all are aware, it has now taken us over two months to get to this point. We failed to plan for such a pace and we are aware that it has caused some conflict and loss of interest in the playerbase. This is absolutely not the kind of endgame we want for this wonderful playerbase.

Therefore, we are going to be projecting an endgame date of September 1st. If at all possible, we would like to have the game almost or completely wrapped up by that date. We are not going to immediately shut it down if it isn't, but we will look into expediting the process if a conclusion has not been reached by then. Please keep this in mind as you plan your further involvement! The mod team will be diligent in moving the game towards its end, and we hope to have your support in this endeavor.

Thank you!

Once everyone who can be found has been collected from their worlds, a new portal opens up--it leads to the silent machine room, glowing with nothing more than the light the various chipped retrieval units' souls give off and Zo's bright glowing eyes. As soon as the group steps through this portal, they will find that all abilities they have, barring those that were never returned to them in the Tower, have been returned to them as real abilities. The second thing they'll notice is the enormous pressure in the room, like something was trying to crush it. Aria is there, and she speaks quickly.

"The power's out--obviously. There's only enough life support left for some of the levels of the Tower, so you can't go upstairs. The elevators aren't working anyway. But listen, it's time. Those of you who can fight, you have to go with Zo and do something about Ruana. Those of you who can't or don't feel like you'll survive, we need to figure out what we're going to do. It's now or never--we have to take control of the Tower and you need to figure out what you're going to do to try and save your worlds. Really, it's okay if you don't want to fight. At this point, there's no way she'd restore any of your bodies even if there was any power that would let her do it. Remember, people who are willing to fight Ruana with Zo, and people who will brainstorm a way to end all of this, stay here with us."

Zo is waiting quietly in a far corner of the room. He looks unhappy and nervous, but he seems determined to at least try to help out. When approached by the group that's going to fight Ruana, he'll explain the plan.

"She's absorbed Jason's and--and Riki's and... Dax's powers. She has her own, too. I can shut down the powers, but you guys need to give me time and I can only do it one power set at a time. You just need to keep her busy. I don't think she's going to use Dax's ability until she doesn't have any other option, so I think that's what we're gonna do. Does that make sense? If I messed something up, tell me, but right now that's the plan, okay? And, um, while I'm doing this I won't be able to help you guys if you get hurt, so please don't get hurt. You'll really die if you do!"

Those remaining will have time to speak among themselves about what they want to do--for now, anyway. There's no telling what might happen later...

From now on all death is permanent. The log for fighting Ruana is here. The log for remaining in the machine room is here.

Those who awoke on their dead worlds have been wandering for hours by this point--if they've bothered to, anyway. There's nothing except death and silence to be found, but they do not thirst and they do not hunger and they do not die. It would always be like that; no one left on a dead world ever dies. However, five hours after they woke up, something changes. A light appears in the distance.

In the tower, five hours after having been locked up, the power fails. There's no voice announcing it, just a few loud warning alarms before everything goes black and the cells holding them in fail, letting them out into the room they've been locked into. Everyone left in the Tower is without their powers or any enhanced abilities above that of a normal human, and a quick exploration of the place they have been left will reveal the door has been welded shut and cannot be broken through. And then, behind them, a light. A rip in space. It's the only way out, though it's impossible to tell where it might lead. Still, there aren't any other options.

Those trapped on their homeworlds will meet up with those who were trapped in the Tower through these portals. They will be able to travel from dead world to dead world, linked by the connections to others they have made, for as soon as one portal closes another will open. And, every time those in the Tower find someone else, they'll feel a little more real, a little less like they've had their abilities stripped from them. Perhaps, if enough people are found, they'll be able to return ready for whatever comes next.

A mingle post for world hopping and dead world travel has been put up here. The next part of endgame will go up at 12:01AM EST on Saturday.

Those downstairs in the bowels of the Tower will know the cause, but for those remaining upstairs, there's a sudden blurring of the world around them. Edges become indistinct, colors brighten and then bleach to white. The Tower vanishes in this light, but the sudden ripple, like the whole structure was the surface of a pond, can be felt like the beat of a drum through the body of each person. Distantly, a voice can be heard: "Just wait--just wait! I'll show you."

The Tower's residents grow lightheaded and pass out. When they wake up, several hours have passed--or, for those who died, perhaps longer than that. Where they wake up, however, is different for each person. Those who would rather remain in the Tower and those who would rather die than remain forever in their current circumstances have been sent back to their dead worlds--apparently abandoned to wander alone. Those who would rather return to their own worlds to try and fix them or to simply be away from the Tower's world have remained in the Tower. They are locked in individual cells somewhere in the administrative levels of the Tower, although from inside the cells it's difficult to know where exactly. They can see and speak to each other, at least--it's more than those trapped on their silent, dead worlds have. All characters have had their powers taken from them, but for those in the cells, their items remain.

Zo, Aria, and even Ruana are nowhere to be seen, but surely they're somewhere. There's also the matter of the clock counting down in the center of the room. Five hours--and then what?

A mingle for those trapped in the cells has been put up here. The second part of this section of endgame will be put up tomorrow.

The following characters have been removed for not meeting activity requirements:

[OU] Hagire Rinichiro/Mockingbird hemoeroticism
[OU] Shiro/Wretched Egg taintedwhite
[OU] Ira wrathishness
[OU] Caster (Gilles de Rais) monstrueux
[OU] Kariya Matou vermicompost
[AU1] Ruler/Jeanne d'Arc faithstaynight
[AU1] Karkat Vantas caliginous
[OU] Kidou Yuuto pengeen
[OU] Jade Curtiss sarcasmancer
[OU] Rapunzel gleamingly
[OU] Jounouchi Katsuya invisible_friendship

On the second of June, several characters sent replies to mysterious little poems left in their mailboxes. Enough, apparently, that the hidden floor was tracked down. Not long after that ominous message carves itself into the wall, all lights and glamour on floor 101 and the hidden floor go off.

Something is coming.

With the help of the residents, Aria and Zo make it up to the hidden floor, though Aria does not escape considerable injury. What she sustains is ultimately non-fatal, but it will take time to heal. In the second block of the Tower, retrieval units begin to swarm in high concentrations, making it dangerous to remain in the block for too long.

After Aria and Zo safely arrive at their destination, the Tower is, for the most part, eerily calm. The tense silence stretches on in this way until the morning of June first, but though the messages received in the mailboxes are ominous, they do not seem to herald any immediate disaster.

Like the calm before an approaching storm, the air grows heavy with the pressure of the countdown nearing zero...

The chase log will continue to receive NPC tags, but it will now be considered backlogged. Additionally, from now on, the game will not be operating in real-time. This means that one OOC day no longer equals one IC day; the plot will advance only once each part comes to a sufficient conclusion. Therefore, new event logs will note the IC dates on which they are taking place.

The following characters did not check in during the activity check and are in danger of removal if they do not reply to this post:

( warned list )

You have until 11:59PM EST June 2nd to reply to this post with activity. If we have made a mistake/you know this person is on hiatus/has activity, please reply! Because this is the final activity check, no second chances will be given.

Hey guys,

Just a heads up that I may be sluggish about tags for the week, possibly longer.

( Here's why. )

If things turn out really bad and I'm not back for the final act, well ... Tell Ruana I said "Rest in pieces!"

This is it, the final countdown! Time for activity check! Here's how it works.

To pass activity check, you must have ten comments within the past TWO MONTHS. These comments do not all have to take place within the same thread or post (though it'd be more convenient for us to check, hint hint).

You have until 11:59PM May 31st to reply to this post with links to your activity! If you don't have enough activity yet, please try to get some together by then. You will need to check in each character individually, but please post them all in one comment if possible.

If you do not reply to the Activity Check, you will have until 11:59 PM June 2nd to reply to the list of those who missed AC with your explanation/activity; with a good reason, you will pass the AC. If you cannot pass AC or fail to provide an explanation, you will be dropped.

Because this is the final activity check, there will be no exemptions or second chances.

Please reply using this form!

<B>Character:</B> [OU/AU#] CHARACTER <user name="JOURNALNAME"> <B>Canon:</B> <B>Activity link(s):</B> <a href="URL">Here</a>

It's growing late when, on the first floor of the Tower, the elevator seems to groan and creak from somewhere below. It soon becomes obvious it's the sound of screeching metal cutting into metal, as if something were being forced upward--the sound grows louder and louder until it sits right outside the elevator doors and then stops. There's a moment's pause before the elevator doors are forced open by two hands. One pushes by force and the other with an evanescent glow.

Zo and Aria tumble out of what's clearly a broken elevator car and into the cafeteria. They'll explain their disappearance, of course--but what were they doing travelling upward in such a manner anyway?

Since not everyone is on my Plurk. Apparantly the first thing I decide to do after a hiatus for burnout is write an entire IC book...

Romeo's book on heroes is finally finished. It is here for anyone who wants to read it. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone out (I might have, I had to use the tag list for the graveyard pages...)

IC he has let everyone know here for those interested.

Thank you for everyone who helped me by sending quotes and letters from their characters. There are a few people who said they wanted to send things but haven't yet- if you still want to it can still be edited so if you want something in it just let me know!

Sorry to everyone for disappearing. I burned out pretty badly and work has been crazy. However I am going to try my best to come back because I couldn't bare the thought of missing end game.

I have however dropped Samwise and Capell, seven was too much to come back with and they were the least painful to let go of.

I have also dropped all backtags but if there is anything anyone wants to handwave please let me know!

So Taiki, Romeo, Suzaku, Shion and Nesir will be back. Let me know if they are needed anywhere

The results are chaotic but an overall success: the chips are disabled and the machine room is secured by Aria's group. The characters can access it at any time by talking to Aria or another retrieval unit in the hidden floor, but there isn't much to see there at the moment, and the retrieval units will prevent anyone from altering the machine for now--it may be possible to convince Aria otherwise, but for now they'd rather nothing be broken.

There are a few days of eerie silence within the Tower: while Zo was scheduled to take control for May, it doesn't seem like he's been around, so it's dubious as to if he really is in charge at the moment. Further, Aria eventually vanishes as well. The other retrieval units, if asked, will say that they're certain she's still alive and uncompromised, but they're not sure exactly where she is.

It will be a few days before that comes to light...

On the 27th, after extensive planning by the Tower residents and the chipped-collar units, Aria will lead the infiltration team to the administrative levels via a retrieval unit elevator. After a long ride--half an hour at the least, though it's hard to keep track--the elevator opens into a hallway which seems to absorb extraneous light after a certain distance, leaving the way ahead pitch black.

Aria will remain stationed at the elevator and give a final overview of the plan: Riki's computers must be shut down without detection, and Riki must be drawn out of the machine room once the equipment has been shut off. Only after Riki leaves the room can Aria and her workers secure the machine.

With that, she sends the infiltration team along with a chipped-collar unit. Deviation from the path specified on the map would not be an easy task; the darkness of the corridor is all-consuming, and even light sources created by those with real powers can barely illuminate the immediate area. Thankfully the chipped unit seems to know the area well, and will lead the team through until the hallway begins to illuminate again.

The chipped unit will not accompany them any further, but the rest of the trek is a short, straight shot to the machine room, and the administrator working within.

Hopefully the time spent planning will pay off.


Meanwhile, the conditions in the residential levels of the Tower continue to deteriorate. Once the monsters have all vanished from the Tower, a profound exhaustion starts to set into the residents. Their energy continues to drain throughout the week, worsening by the day.

But even sleep doesn't offer any respite from the exhaustion--nightmares plague even the most peaceful of sleepers, assaulting them with abstractions that feel representative of fear itself. Later in the week, these horrors begin to bleed into a character's waking world, manifesting as hallucinations. It may be the feeling of always being watched, or the sensation of something crawling beneath the skin, or a flash every now and then that warps the very walls and floors beneath your feet. Whatever form it takes, it always feels somehow beyond the reach of understanding--uncomprehensible, and terrifying for its obscurity.

There are certain areas that worsen the nightmarish visions and increase the frequency at which they are experienced. Floors sixteen, twenty-six, forty-three, forty-four, fifty-six, and fifty-nine will all exacerbate the condititions of the player characters. The exhaustion worsens on these floors, as well, to the point where it almost seems possible to feel the life draining from your body.

Surely there must be some underlying cause? Because at this rate, it seems likely that you could collapse at any minute...

If the player characters do not determine what is causing them to weaken, they will eventually die of exhaustion, with characters who spend more time on afflicted floors succumbing more quickly to their fatigue. Characters who die as a result of the exhaustion will not be revived until the beginning of May.

So, I'd wanted to stay till the end but unfortunately I just don't have the time and energy to RP in games anymore for now.. I'm still up for memes and PSLs if anyone's interested.

A big thanks to everyone who's played with Rolo and maybe we'll meet each other again somewhere else~ ^^

Just a heads up I'm calling a hiatus for a little while, just while I get back in the swing of things. It shouldn't be more than a week or so but all my characters will be disappearing to their dead worlds for the duration.

This affects: Romeo, Taiki, Suzaku Kururugi, Shion, Samwise Gamgee, Capell and Nesir Aeser

Beginning at midnight on the 15th, the Tower's population of ever-prowling monsters gradually begins to thin. The monsters never disappear in front of anyone's eyes, but throughout the week it will become clear that they are lessening in number. By the end of the week, the Tower is completely devoid of the monsters that have roamed it for so long, almost as eerily devoid of life as it was at the beginning of the rescue mission.

The disappearing process seems to ignite a kind of tension in the air, or perhaps it's the other way around. It feels heavy, as if a great thunderstorm is bearing down on the entire Tower, and it will only worsen as the monsters clear out over the week.

On the 16th, Aria approaches Waver Velvet (fionnuisce) with the report requested in March. The report contains information on how to infiltrate the administrative levels of the Tower. A basic hand-drawn map that will lead the residents to their destination--but only their destination, nowhere else in the administrative levels--is provided with the report. Additionally, it will include what Aria has discovered of the situation with Riki and Zo; namely, that after bringing in the residents for April, Zo was hurried out of the machine and Riki has been occupying the machine room ever since. It is unclear as to what exactly he plans to do with the machine, but whatever it is, it seems as if his progress has been going slowly.

After providing Waver with her report, Aria will utilize the chipped-collar units to recruit people to come to the hidden floor throughout the week about a mission into the administrative levels. The chipped units will not divulge any of the specific information in the report while recruiting, but Aria will gladly offer it to characters who visit the hidden floor.

When informing people of the infiltration, Aria will stress that Riki will have a considerable amount of Tower technology at his disposal and that facing him head-on for this mission is not advisable. She instead recommends a stealth operation to sabotage the equipment he's working with. She will leave the details of the planning besides this to the player characters, but she is available to ask for advice if necessary.

The month is quickly passing. Ruana will only be asleep for so much longer...

The following characters have been removed for not meeting activity requirements and may be applied for:
[OU] Sir Lancelot (Berserker) chevalier_mal_fet
[AU2] Ryuunosuke Uryuu greatestcool
[OU] April Sinclair technologic
[OU] Zoe Gallais papillonmagique

The following characters have taken a second chance and must provide double activity next AC:
[OU] Shinji Matou looselips
[OU] America colonial
[AU] Ruler (Jeanne d'Arc) faithstaynight
[OU] Franziska von Karma turnaboutlegacy
[AU] Chidori Yoshino floreatnoctem

The following characters were on hiatus for this AC:
[AU] Lorelei seventhsong
[OU] Kariya Matou vermicompost
[OU] Caster (Gilles de Rais) monstrueux
[AU] Revolver Ocelot notayoungkitten
[OU] Neal Cassidy wegotlucky
[OU] Aleph alephbet
[OU] V/V heavenscorpse
[OU] Ryuunosuke Uryuu kindofademon
[AU] Zett Takajo scentofmakai
[AU] Ghirahim swordcrazy
[OU] Ryoji Mochizuki notsogrimreaper
[OU] Tetra stop_calling_me_zelda
[OU] Rolo Lamperouge tempus_scorpius
[AU] Asako Minegishi sawthelockdown