OOC: It's a doozy, as you can tell. Sorry not sorry.
"Together, always," he said. "Three, two, one-"
They both enter the cube and find themselves face to face with total, utter blackness. On top of that, it is quiet -- too quiet, uncomfortably quiet. It's like being in a silent room that's been padded with 10 feet of pillows. Frank and Tobias have to strain to even hear themselves breathe.
Somehow through the aural sludge they are able to hear one final klaxon, followed by that familiar, though now heavily muffled, voice, saying
exit pod launching in five... four... three... two... one... launch.
OOC: Open this link in a new tab and let the video run in the background while you read the rest of the post
On the word "launch", Frank and Tobias don't feel any motion, but the room starts to get lighter; almost imperceptibly at first, but after a few seconds the men are forced to squint as their eyes adjust. Immediately before them the white light fades into green, and a (hologram? video? simulation?) of an Earth-like farmer's field appears from above, moving as if the heroes were in the belly of an aircraft looking down. Unlike the visions they saw before, this one is two-dimensional and has video artifacts as if it were made with an actual camera; parts of the view are out of focus at times, and when the image turns the sun causes lens flare.
Frank and Tobias fly over the fields for a little longer and then suddenly the field explodes -- literally -- with tiny points of light. Dirt is thrown hundreds of feet, leaving behind a smouldering crater roiling with thick, black smoke. Next the image shifts to show a third person view of a squadron of World War One-era bombers dropping their payload one bomb at a time, then to a building, clearly bombed out, and still on fire. Some of the images seem as if they could be news reels or wartime propaganda films; some are grainy black and white and others full-HD and Technicolor. A humongous 4-propeller steel-clad airplane with the words "Enola Gay" emblazened on its nose flies overhead, followed by a blinding flash which leaves a miles-high mushroom cloud in its wake.
Next the images shift from war-time destruction to those of peace-time disasters. The Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Bhopal explosion. Chernobyl. Fukushima. Deepwater Horizion. And several more environmental disasters that Frank and Tobias don't even recognize. The images show beaches covered in oil, neighborhoods filled with toxic waste, and families covered in boils and mutations.
The images then show attack helicopters, loaded to the maximum with deadly ordinance. Men load the helicopters and wave to the pilot. The rotors spin up, throwing dust in a wide radius and the helicopters lift off from inside the cloud. Following the helicopters on the ground are large lines of tanks leaving their own plumes of dust in their wake.
The images then change into those of celebration. A small-ish crowd of people mill about on the lawn of the U.S. Capital building, watching some sort of ceremony take place. As the image zooms in, Frank and Tobias recognize famous playboy real estate billionaire Ronald O'Connor with his hand on a Bible reciting the Oath of Office. Frank and Tobias look at each other in surprise; O’Connor has made a few amateur plays at public office, mostly for the purpose of trolling the system, but he has never been a true political contender. He turns to the crowd and waves triumphantly. A dark red dot appears in his forehead and a slow trickle of blood pours out of it. His face widens in surprise and his mouth opens and closes a few times like a fish. He slumps over and immediately is surrounded by security, drawing their weapons and assessing the situation. The crowd disperses in horror, and many are trampled underfoot as they trip and fall in the confusion.
The scene changes again, this time the view is as if someone is holding a cell phone camera above a crowd of people. Just barely, one can make out O’Connor lying on the ground, his eyes open and lifeless. One of the security guards takes his pulse and everyone in the circle holds their breath in anticipation. The guard shakes his head and uses two fingers to close O’Connor’s eyes. He stands back, then miraculously, the wound on O’Connor’s head closes itself, and his eyes spring open. He looks around in confusion and slowly pushes himself up to a sitting position. Pandemoneum erupts in the crowd, and the image changes yet again.
O’Connor is shown again on the steps of the Capitol Building. It’s a setting similar to before, but this time the crowds are overwhelming. O’Connor sports a faint but definite scar where his bullet wound used to be. Many people in the crowd also sport this mark, through makeup and prosthetics, and hold up signs proclaiming the miracle of O’Connor’s healing. The President waves to his adoring fans.
The scene shifts to show the president standing over lines of people as they wait for their turn to enter a store. The people exiting the store are carrying single loaves of bread, small packages of meat, and a few canned goods; clearly not enough food to feed whole families. The people standing in line look worn and tired, with bags under their eyes. They all look hungry, but still cheerful, especially when they catch a glimpse of their leader. Every single one of them Carry a jagged circular tattoo on their forehead or right hand.
The final set of images seem to be security camera feeds of a warehouse. The images switch back and forth until one shows two shadowy figures stalking the warehouse. One carries a long sword at his waist and both are opening boxes seemingly at random and placing flyers inside. The headline of the flyer says “THE TRUTH”, and a large image of O'Connor. The rest of the content is too small to read. The man carrying the sword looks directly at Frank and Tobias. He raises his hand and points at them. A flash of light appears from his fingertips and streaks towards the pair; as soon as it is about to hit them the view goes haywire. The camera zooms in and out, pans, tilts, and goes in and out of focus, as if someone were pushing buttons on the control panel at random. The view switches again, showing the figure farther away, with his arm outstretched. He turns and looks at Frank and Tobias again, and again points at them. Another flash appears and this time before it hits them the screen turns to static. The view changes again, this time looking down at the two men from above as they run and weave their way through the aisles. The second man stops, turns, and breathes fire from his mouth. He turns his head side to side so as to block the entire aisle with fire.
Flashing lights start going off all around the warehouse as sprinklers release streams of water down on the pair, quickly extinguishing any errant flames. The two keep running and Frank and Tobias notice… they can feel the sprinklers. Even though the image is clearly that of low-quality security cameras, somehow the water is making it through. Moreover, unlike the jungle rain they experienced earlier, this water actually soaks into their clothes, drenching them to the bone. The two figures run out of frame as they are followed by several submachine gun-wielding security guards clad in black. They stop and fire short bursts, then continue on again. Another view shows them firing again, then another. Strangely, the sound seems to be desynced from the video; at times the guards will fire with no sound, or there will be single shots when they are firing bursts. The scenes continue for a few seconds until the final image: a shaky, chest-height video of someone holding his weapon with clear line of site on the two men. He fires in an arc, catching both of the men and causing them to fall to the ground. The scene fades and Frank and Tobias are once again standing in utter darkness, still being soaked by sprinklers.
As if things couldn’t get any weirder, the gunshots continue in the pitch black, but they sound muffled and far away. They slowly get clearer and louder until suddenly the world explodes in light and sound. Frank and Tobias look around, and they are seemingly back on Earth. They are standing in the middle of the very courtyard where they stood only so many hours ago, but now they are being pelted by a cold, wet, and utterly real rain. Smatterings of gunfire erupt around them; single blasts, multiple bursts, and long, drawn out automatic weapons fire. They look around to get their bearings and see that the square is entirely devoid of tourists, and several of the intricate facades and frescos are now pockmarked with bullet holes. One of the monks from the monastery jumps up from behind some cover and run towards Frank and Tobias, holding an Uzi close to his chest. Before either of them can react another burst of gunfire rings out and he falls to the floor, gun clattering on the pavement. He rolls himself over, facing Frank and Tobias. He coughs up blood, looks the both of them directly in the eye, and says,
Whatever you do, don’t give it to them.
He takes a breath to explain himself further and a single shot strikes him in the throat. He reaches his hand up, but it’s useless. Blood spurts out and he dies, gurgling and gasping for air. Three men come seemingly out of nowhere wearing sharp, black suits, dark glasses, and carrying various small arms. Retcon Dons. One has his pistol out, pointed at the monk, steam rising from the barrel. He reaches his other hand up to his ear and says,
Echo reporting. Decourcey and Byrne secure. Requesting extraction.
Phase 1 - COMPLETE
Pass: 3
Fail: 0
Phase 2 - COMPLETE
Pass: 5
Fail: 0
Phase 3 - COMPLETE
Pass: 7+
Fail: 0
