ace's head fucking hurts. his hands hurt, his heart hurts, he is crying and bleeding in this horrible cult dungeon tonight, and he can't make the choice and turn back when luffy is right there. he's dooming nimona, and hung, and hana, and probably jolyne and lillium too, but--
he has to keep trying. he has to. he's never been able to go when there was something important behind him.
so i am once again wasting a turn tugging at degree and screaming helplessly when shit don't move, son ]
[ hahahahahaha at this point? at this point it's over, isn't it. jolyne just heaves, her arms trembling. there's a way to escape, the three of them at least. but can she stand the idea of that? leaving them behind? (was there another way? if you could reach in and change one thing, get a second chance...)
a soft wheeze. she hears lillium and oh god maybe they can try... but... ]
Ace - we can't - we have to go... we need to... it's not moving...!
[ as if she isn't still helping him dig his heels in. sometimes you see things during memshare week and it just really makes you think. she reaches for his arm and grabs tightly, fingers digging in. we have to go. we have to go. i don't want to go i don't i don't please oh god oh fuck oh god please what do i do. his heels are already planted. this is more of a final bid. please. look.
[ ... Maybe if he were stronger, or if he had the power, then they would all get out of here. He isn't any of those. Nothing grand, either. A part of him wants to start yelling because MAYBE if they DIDN'T try to tackle the PERSON WITH THE DETONATOR they wouldn't be in this situation.
PERHAPS, they would be in another type of life and death situation, but at least those chances could have been better?! Maybe? On the way in a dash, he picks up Nimona like some scruffed wild animal and lugs Hana onto his back—whichever body is easy to pluck out without needing to dig through debris.
Have you ever been kicked by prosthetic legs, Ace. With an 11, it isn't a gentle one, but it won't break bone. ]
If you plan to die here, there goes your and your brothers' dreams. Let's get going, blockhead!
[ With a heavy heart, he parses that they can't save them all... Iris, included. Math sucks. He's booking it. Goodbye. ]
The ceiling collapses with an immense noise, and the events after are a complete blur. At the last second, something strange happens. Again, your surroundings spread in gridlines, horizontal and vertical, glitches of the matrix filling the vignettes of your peripheral vision.
It's like time stops... and then flows somewhere else.
You don't remember how you managed to get out, but you must have. You vaguely recall the sound of police sirens and lights being flashed into your eyes, checking for a response. They ask you questions and you answer them with little thought where it comes automatically, and don't where you can't. They take you away on ambulances, declaring you to be in deep shock and in need of urgent care.
The less generous interrogate you on the events, what happened, what contact you had with the killer. Boss pulls strings to get them to leave you alone, getting what information she can get from your AIs so you can get the rest you deserve.
Nimona, Hana, and Sigrun are declared survivors and will recover, though Nimona will retain a permanent injury. Hana's arm will leave her lame, destroying her dreams of being a professional gamer. Sigrun is quiet and speaks to you rarely after, leaving the city to rest in greener and quieter pastures, some place less dangerous than this city. She really got roped in just because.
They send people to dig through the rubble once it's deemed safe enough to do so but they don't find Hung, Luffy, nor Iris. They bring you back the straw hat and the coat as a keepsake, but that's it.
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no subject
Do it, Ace! I can take it!
s̶a̸y̴ ̴w̴h̷a̴t̸e̷v̷e̴r̷ ̴y̶o̷u̵ ̷w̸a̸n̷t̴!̵ ̸i̸'̴m̶ ̸g̵o̴n̸n̷a̵ ̷s̵a̷v̸e̸ ̵y̷o̷u̸ ̶e̷v̵e̵n̸ ̵i̴f̵ ̷i̵t̸ ̵k̷i̴l̶l̷s̵ ̵m̷e̶!̶
ace's head fucking hurts. his hands hurt, his heart hurts, he is crying and bleeding in this horrible cult dungeon tonight, and he can't make the choice and turn back when luffy is right there. he's dooming nimona, and hung, and hana, and probably jolyne and lillium too, but--
he has to keep trying. he has to. he's never been able to go when there was something important behind him.
so i am once again wasting a turn tugging at degree and screaming helplessly when shit don't move, son ]
no subject
a soft wheeze. she hears lillium and oh god maybe they can try... but... ]
Ace - we can't - we have to go... we need to... it's not moving...!
[ as if she isn't still helping him dig his heels in. sometimes you see things during memshare week and it just really makes you think. she reaches for his arm and grabs tightly, fingers digging in. we have to go. we have to go. i don't want to go i don't i don't please oh god oh fuck oh god please what do i do. his heels are already planted. this is more of a final bid. please. look.
we're fucked. ]
no subject
PERHAPS, they would be in another type of life and death situation, but at least those chances could have been better?! Maybe? On the way in a dash, he picks up Nimona like some scruffed wild animal and lugs Hana onto his back—whichever body is easy to pluck out without needing to dig through debris.
Have you ever been kicked by prosthetic legs, Ace. With an 11, it isn't a gentle one, but it won't break bone. ]
If you plan to die here, there goes your and your brothers' dreams. Let's get going, blockhead!
[ With a heavy heart, he parses that they can't save them all... Iris, included. Math sucks. He's booking it. Goodbye. ]
no subject
The ceiling collapses with an immense noise, and the events after are a complete blur. At the last second, something strange happens. Again, your surroundings spread in gridlines, horizontal and vertical, glitches of the matrix filling the vignettes of your peripheral vision.
It's like time stops... and then flows somewhere else.
You don't remember how you managed to get out, but you must have. You vaguely recall the sound of police sirens and lights being flashed into your eyes, checking for a response. They ask you questions and you answer them with little thought where it comes automatically, and don't where you can't. They take you away on ambulances, declaring you to be in deep shock and in need of urgent care.
The less generous interrogate you on the events, what happened, what contact you had with the killer. Boss pulls strings to get them to leave you alone, getting what information she can get from your AIs so you can get the rest you deserve.
Nimona, Hana, and Sigrun are declared survivors and will recover, though Nimona will retain a permanent injury. Hana's arm will leave her lame, destroying her dreams of being a professional gamer. Sigrun is quiet and speaks to you rarely after, leaving the city to rest in greener and quieter pastures, some place less dangerous than this city. She really got roped in just because.
They send people to dig through the rubble once it's deemed safe enough to do so but they don't find Hung, Luffy, nor Iris. They bring you back the straw hat and the coat as a keepsake, but that's it.
So the story goes. ]