daybreakacademy | I will see you in Samura

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I will see you in Samura

Who: 82 White Chain and the Outlands Cosmology Class
What: Field trip!
Where: Dead Kingdom of Samura, The Outlands.
When: Early February
Warning: I hope you got a signed consent form from your legal guardian.

After weeks of talking about the voices of gods and the void between worlds and the King's Road and other such esoteric topics, it would not be surprising for even a studious student to still not have a good grip on what The Outlands were. They were a big place, after all. Far larger than the Earth, and far stranger.

Eventually, you had to just go there.

White Chain had been reminding her class of the upcoming trip for the last week, but it might still be surprising to see a large stone archway set up in the front of the classroom. It was covered in carefully carved runes, and would not have looked out of place in a wizard's tower or a crumbling dungeon full of goblins and beholders. It definitely looked out of place in a classroom.

Once the class was gathered, White Chain addressed them all with her hands clasped behind her back. "Once active, this gateway will lead to the dead kingdom of Samura. Samura was once a land dedicated to peace. A land of philosophers and poets. Such things rarely last, but Samura's end was not what you might assume. No one conquered it. No, Samura fell because of wars in neighboring regions. Refugees, seeking peace, continually fled to Samura until eventually there was not enough food and shelter for anyone. The result: Famine, riots, and collapse. Now, only ruins and bones remain. It is a somber place. It is also safe, and so an ideal place to first experience the outlands."

Each student was offered an emergency kit that included a signal flare, should they get lost, a lightweight emergency blanket, and a water bottle. She touched a rune on the gateway and a portal of shimmering light swirled into being before turning clear, and suddenly instead of seeing the blackboard behind the gate, you could see a starlit desert. "Are there any questions before we go?"

The Ruins of Samura

The first thing anyone noticed on stepping into the Outlands was that Samura was COLD. Breath fogged the near freezing air. The second thing anyone noticed that this was like no place on Earth. A desert of vividly purple stand stretched out to the horizon. Strange, alien trees remained here and there, stunted, twisted, and dead from centuries of drought and famine. Above, a sky impossibly dense with starts of a thousand vibrant colors lit the land almost as bright as daylight. The portal stood in the middle of what must have once been a beautiful plaza lined by building that looked to be almost as much sculptures of art as they were homes and businesses. Now, most of them were falling apart or just rubble, but a few remained upright.

The main street led away from the plaza towards a large cliff which appeared to have a waterfall flowing down it and the shapes of more buildings along the top. On closer examination, however, it became obvious that the "waterfall" was actually a sandflow, and that it was flowing up the cliff face. Indeed, there appeared to be an entire river of shifting sand that wound through the ruins of canals that criss crossed the ruined town.

Here and there, one could find bones. Human bones. Nothing lived here. Not anymore.

"Be cautious with the ruins. Some of them are quite fragile, and could collapse. We leave in three hours time. I will set of a signal flare by the gateway half an hour before we leave, and will leave the gate open until all students are accounted for. If you get lost, set off your flare and I will come for you as fast as I can."

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[The initial wave of panic dissipates after a minute or two. When he's fairly certain he's capable of speaking and not screaming, Toki removes his hand from his mouth. It's bleeding, but he's not going to look at it. It's fine. Everything's fine.]

H-how do... She...

[He's wrong. He can't form a sentence yet. He sits down too; it's a good idea, before he blacks out and falls off the tower. That's a distinct possibility depending on what Rex has to say. He tries again after a moment, looking at the floor and not Rex.]

D-do... did... Did you know her?

[Toki can't tell how old Rex is, and maybe he did know Ginshu at some point. He didn't know all of his sister's acquaintances. He's hoping it's some innocent connection, but there's dread in the pit of his stomach telling him it's not.]

[ Rex breathes deeply, thinking on how best to answer that. He already has a large number of possible selections, as that is a question he could anticipate quite easily. He decides not say 'briefly' because even he can see that's in really poor taste. ]

I did not. I recently... encountered her.

[ Even the pause is deliberate, having designed it to give the impression it's all a lot more off the cuff than it is. The way he pinches the bridge of his nose is perfectly natural though. ]

And I promised to pass on a message from her, to you.

[ He doesn't say 'final message' or 'last words.' He fully intends to give the impression she passed on to some peaceful afterlife. For all he knows, she did! It's not entirely a lie. ]

How recently!?

[She only died in December, but somehow he thinks Rex means even more recently than that. Which is somewhat confirmed by his next sentence. Toki's trying not to panic again. He wants to know what's going on.]

When did you see her!? Is she a ghost!? Orihime said there was a ghost! Was it her!? Is she still here!? What does she want!?

[He's desperately trying to picture ghost Ginshu as whole and beautiful and not some animated zombie-like cobbled together spirit with dead glassy eyes. It's not working.]

[ Rex waits a moment after Toki's questions, looking even more tired than usual. Rubbing at his cheek. Once again contemplating the best response.

In the end, it seems that actually delivering the message will answer most of the questions at once. ]

She said there was nothing you could have done, and she is at peace.

[ He does continue though, one hand over his face, blocking an eye. There were only a few questions left. ]

I think whatever was influencing her behaviour wanted her to harm you- when I removed that influence, she could not stay to deliver the message herself.

[ Technically none of this is a lie, if you look at it from the perspective of someone who desperately does not want it to be a lie and can fool themselves. ]

I'll remember the beautiful face behind that mask for the rest of my life.

[ That one is completely earnest, though perhaps not for the reasons he implies. ]

[He bursts into tears at that message. Nothing he could have done, but he didn't even try. If she was at peace, had she forgiven him? Toki has little time to think that over, because Rex is still explaining. Orihime had also said the ghost wanted to harm him; it must have been Ginshu she saw too.]

Wait, if-if she was like possessed?

[Could a ghost even be possessed?]

Influenced, and you stopped or removed or exorcised or whatever you did, why wouldn't she stay!?

[Why would she leave? Why wouldn't she tell him herself?]

What mask!?

[He's extremely confused now, but he's fixated on the fact Rex did something to her and now she's gone again. He's feeling so many things at once, some he can't name, but primarily anger and hurt and it's coming through in his voice, even if he's still crying.]

D-did you kill her? I know she's dead! But did you like- did you... What did you do!?

I'm sorry... I don't know the answer to some of that. But I'll do my best to explain.

[ He shakes his head softly. Exactly as quiet and calm as Toki is agitated and loud. This is how he's dealt with negative feelings (and aren't they all, now?) for such a long time he struggles with other ways. Just... be worn out by them. ]

Spirits are vulnerable to outside influences and it's difficult for them to stay in our world under their own power unless they're especially strong.

[ All true, as far as he knows. The spirits he's encountered have all drawn power from some external force to keep themselves on Earth. ]

Something I have not encountered before has some sort of ability to manipulate spirits- your sister was not the only victim of it. It creates a mask and drives them to act to harm those they loved in life.

[ He holds up his hands, palms up. A grey, smokey sphere forms between them and as he moves his hands apart, it separates into two- one black and one white. That might illustrate what he didn't do, but he's not saying it's what he did. So where's the lie? ]

I know what a human spirit should be- that is enough to do what I did. But... I'm sorry, I wasn't strong enough to keep her here long enough to speak to you. Or wise enough to tell you where she went.

[ Where's the lie? He wasn't strong enough to preserve the specimen. And where does a destroyed spirit go? Surely a soul is something more durable than a mere fool like Rex could ever end? ]

[Not the only victim? This is happening to more... spirits? Here? Toki doesn't really get the display of magic sphere things. He thinks Rex may be getting ready to cast some spell that's probably dangerous or fatal. He keeps his eye on the spheres just in case while he listens to the rest of Rex's explanation, no excuse, for what amounts to killing Ginshu a second time. Rex doesn't know what happened to her spirit, and there are others out there apparently, that Rex will just kill too. If there was any way to stop the influence of whatever it was without... destroying them... Someone has to try. Someone has to know this is happening before Rex gets his hands on another one of them.

He doesn't know what kind of magic Rex is capable of, but Toki knows he won't win a fight against him, and he's still blocking the door. He knows he's going to die right here after, but he's at least going to try and warn White Chain something's happening. She might figure out Rex's plans, or what hes done, or at least like arrest him for murder. Toki jumps up from the floor and leans out of the tower opening, screaming as loudly as he can.]

WHITE CHAIN!

[ Okay. He planned for this. He just has to act now and then when White Chain gets here to the scene of devastation and a dead Toki, it can seem like he was crying for help because the tower was collapsing, not because of Rex. Hell, it won't even be hard with him hanging out of the gap like that- he just has to. Just has to. JUST.

JUST DO SOMETHING YOU USELESS DESPICABLE HUMAN REFUSE ]

Don't move so-

[ He gets that far into the sentence as he stands, using the same motion of his hands pushing him up to cast a spell. One hand reduces the friction at the base of the tower, almost the only thing holding it up. The other uses telekinesis to pull out a stone he'd made a note of earlier for this exact purpose.

The crack that comes immediately before the whole thing tilts is deafening, rocking towards the open desert. He wasn't about to dump the thing on any other students, after all. Magic is Rex's forte, but he's fairly athletic- he could pretty easily carry a guy Toki's size and leap out a gap this size, float gently down and land very elegantly... if that guy Toki's size was cooperating with him.

Which he probably won't be. It's hard to keep someone in a bridal carry when they think you murdered their dead sister, no matter how tall you are. ]

[A student in danger! White Chain set out in a dead sprint the second she heard it, and she was far faster than any unaugmented human. She reached the old chapel just in time to see it starting to collapse.

A part of her wondered why it was only starting to collapse NOW if Toki had already yelled for help. But she didn't have time to follow that thought through right now.

Let's see. The building was collapsing. Toki and Rex were falling. If she angled her approach like SO and jumped HERE...

For Rex and Toki both, there was a sense of being hit by a large stone, which was none too comfortable. Then a sense of almost weightless motion while being clamped under strong, cold arms. Then a second impact as the three of them landed, a good sixty feet past the chapel.]

[Toki wasn't expecting Rex to grab him and jump off the the now-collapsing tower. Nor was he expecting to hit White Chain's armor when he tried to jab Rex with his elbow, which really hurt. Now that they were safely on the ground, before the tower's even finished collapsing, he's trying to explain what happened to White Chain. Before Rex just kills him with those magic sphere things.]

White Chain! Rex killed my sister! She was already dead, but he like disintegrated her spirit or something and he's going to do it to more of them! He said something was possessing her and he tried to stop it, but he killed her instead and what if she could have been saved!? He's says there's more of them and they're probably going to attack people when they're possessed by whatever!

[ Rex on the other hand, had marginally been expecting interference. He'd kind of hoped whoever it was would notice they were actually drifting down at... relatively safe speed but he also understands hope is for idiots and children. At least it was better than dropping Toki, he shocks himself by thinking. ]

Oof.

[ Rex doesn't say a word and just lets Toki get it all out, dusting himself off, patting himself down- okay, no damage to his music player. That's all that matters, despite the bruises he's sure he has.

In the end, his full rebuke to Toki's accusations is just an incredibly tired look that is remarkably similar to an elder sibling too used to their kid brother lying in an attempt to get him into trouble and two words. ]

He's confused.

Edited 2019-02-06 21:53 (UTC)

I warned you that the buildings here can be unstable.

[And then a wave of words washed over her. She looked back and forth between them.]

I am...aware of the ghost problem on campus. Rex is this true what he said about his sister?

Ghost problem!? This has been happening so often it's a problem!? I didn't know anything about it! Why haven't I seen them!? How many of them were there!? Did she come to campus before!? Did other people besides Orihime see her and NO ONE TOLD ME!?

[ Rex's tombstone face looked just as grim and calm as ever- aside from managing to look a tiny bit hurt at the implication it could possibly be true, which he obtained by channelling his self-loathing it absolutely was. ]

I encountered his sister and was able to remove the influence of whatever entity made her aggressive. I am unsure what happened to her spirit following that, as she left the Earthly plane swiftly- but I had promised to deliver a message to Toki in her stead.

[ That much he has planned to say, not that it sounds much different to his casual conversation. Or as casual as Rex ever gets.

The next part is a little more strained- clearly, a painful memory attached to it.

The memory is disintegrating Toki's sister though so. ]

I don't break promises.

[ And then, apparently embarrassed at his poker face slipping, he sniffs and reasserts it. ]

Unfortunately, my message was misinterpreted, leading to Toki's current emotional state. Subsequently, his attempts to escape my presence caused the tower to collapse.

[ He rubs his upper arm slightly and shrugs with one shoulder. ]

...I'd also like to know the answers to his questions.

There have been other instances of students being assaulted by undead spirits. Such things happen, when you bring as much power to one place as Daybreak Academy has. We are looking into it.

As for Toki's sister...

[She didn't sound VERY sympathetic by normal standards, but by angel standards she was doing pretty good.]

The dead do not belong in this world. They cannot stay here unless something is holding them here. There is likely little that could be done to stop a ghost from staying on Earth once any corrupting influence was removed.

[White Chain basically confirms Rex's statement that ghosts can't linger on Earth long. Toki still isn't sure what happened, and maybe Rex did just... free her. It was okay if he chose to believe that, wasn't it? Chose to believe that she forgave him for not saving her, that she was at peace... somewhere. That way, it wouldn't hurt anymore. At that shred of hope, he's disconnected himself from the conversation for the most part, now just sitting in the purple sand and and sifting it through his fingers. Some of it's gotten into the punctures in his hand, maybe he'd die from some Outlands infection and he'd be at peace too.]

[ ~~tahnk you Whiat Chunn he's home free you fuckig nidtiots~~

Despite the fact that this is ostensibly good for him, Rex doesn't feel the smallest thrill or relief. Part of him, a very loud part with large teeth that sink deeper into him every day, wants him to pay for everything he's done- although what is included in 'everything' he'd struggle to tell you beyond this. Just being alive in general counts.

The sigh he lets out, the customary 'goosh', is one of complete defeat.

He nods at White Chain- ]

Thank you for your assistance.

[ In helping him, more than saving them.

He really should consider himself fantastically fortunate and run off now, never talk to Toki again. Instead, he has to lay seeds for the future, hands on his knees as he leans a little towards Toki. ]

I promised her I'd protect you, too. That's why I've been so worried about you since we met.

[ He reiterates probably the biggest lie he'll ever tell. ]

I don't break promises.

[ He really, really hopes that one works, he needs people to know he's a creepy, grim, fearsome looking giant who is basically a good guy. Not just a. Whatever He Is. ]

[Rex doesn't have to worry about his lies being at all convincing. Toki isn't hearing anything he's saying. The sand is comfortable and he's tired, so he leans back until he his just flops down in it, looking up at the stars. He's crying again, but not actively or all that much. Slow trickling tears that make everything blurry, and give the stars fuzzy halos. They're beautiful.]

Edited 2019-02-07 15:10 (UTC)

I think you both are coming back to Earth.

[She did not have a good sense of what was going on just now, but something felt OFF about this whole situation.]

[ Well, Rex would like to hang around and learn more... but also kicking up a fuss would be counter productive.

Eh, he’ll just find a way to sneak back here himself some other time. That’s the smart idea he comes up with. ]

That’s reasonable.

[ He points at Toki- ]

Uhm. You want me to carry him or...?

He should be perfectly capable of walking himself, once he collects himself.

[White Chain's statement filters through, and he drags himself to his feet before she changes her mind. He's not letting Rex anywhere near him if he can help it. He says nothing and starts walking back to the portal, brushing the sand off along the way.]

Hmm.

[ Rex lets Toki walk a bit before he starts following. Just in case, he stays an arm's length (his arm's length) away.

Well, assessing how this has gone- 65% successful! No one died, looks like Toki isn't going to make him live up to his (fake) promises. Sure things look weird, but White Chain's interjection has helped him immensely. Nothing short of some kinda truth potion can out him now!

Aww crap. He's got to come up with some sort of counter truth potion now. And work out when it might be administered. Or make one without side effects so he can take it every day- etc. etc.

Rex's look of quiet contemplation as he considers ways to dig himself deeper into paranoia looks a lot like he's concerned for his classmate. Couldn't have gone better if he did plan it! ]

[This was apparently going to end well. Toki enters the gateway back into the classroom. He intends to go find Professor Atchison as soon as possible. He'd mentioned a plague of tainted souls and students were being attacked. At the time, Toki's hadn't been paying much attention and then got distracted or worried about something else. With White Chain now also talking about the ghost problem, he's starting to put it together. Avery knows they're tainted; he tasted one. Maybe he'd be more inclined to listen about their possible potential for being saved and assured to move on.]

We can just go now, right~!?

[It might be suspicious to just run off the second they got back.]

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I will see you in Samura

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