There's always a lighthouse

[wheremst]

And just like that, you wake up in the basement of a lighthouse in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There's a circle of 25 pods in the middle of the room, and two more in a room off to the side, and you can imagine who is in which.

An elevator to the side of the room leads up to the ground floor (or to the first sub-basement, if you want to check out the machine that brought you here), where you can for the first time in weeks look out a window and see the sky. Its a beautiful sunny day, with a strong breeze on the grassy ground of the island where the lighthouse stands. Have you ever been this happy to hear seagulls?

You're free. Whatever comes next, you're free and you won. Take some time to relish your victory, won't you? Reunite with friends you thought you had lost, go forth and just... well, enjoy this.

Comments

[hardnosed]

[ Jasper... well, everyone, even the people who bit it two weeks in, probably know what Jasper's first undertaking is when she wakes up. She knows what's coming, and there's no fumbling or anger on her part when she exits her pod. Which might seem counterintuitive, since she summons her helmet and quite literally headbutts her way out, but it is what it is! She stands up, looms over everyone with grim purpose, and immediately starts combing through the crowd (were there always this many of them?) with a specific individual in mind. She'll even helpfully bark, to anyone who's in her way and especially anyone who might have seen you-know-who: ]

Have you seen her?!

[ Hi guys, she missed you too!!

.. ANYWAY, no matter what happens with Rose, she seems a whole lot less agitated after it's over and done with. She gravitates to the outdoors, and you might catch her just... walking into the ocean. She suddenly goes from walking on the beach to immersing herself completely, and just as quickly as it happened, she's gone.

Well, she's gone for ten minutes, at which point she rises from the waves, her long pale hair plastered to her form and her 700 hideous equally-sized teeth bared in a triumphant grin. She shakes herself off while still up to her ankles, which still might put you in the splash zone, honestly.

Afterwards, she seems relatively content to sit on the beach and gaze distantly out at the horizon, her only company her thoughts and whoever might be nearby, which is a huge mistake on their part. The truth, which — even after all of this — Jasper still refuses to fully acknowledge, is that she does want to talk to the others, including the ones she hates. There are a few people she'll actively seek out, but with most of them, it's just a matter of a gruff voice breaking into their business once they get within range. She says pretty much the same thing every time. With her eyes still on the ocean, she asks: ]

Where are you going from here?

[precognit]

[Alice is...effervescently happy. Her friends are back, and some of these people might hate her guts but she can't find it in her to care. She's flitting around from person to person, when she sees Jasper's lumbering form on the beach, looking...awkward? Focused? Something like that. But when isn't Jasper kind of awkward, honestly?

Either way, she gets an idea—the strength is back in her, and she's got so much energy that she kind of just bum rushes Jasper from behind. Picture, if you will, 5-foot-nothing Alice coming up behind the gem, locking her arms around her middle, and just lifting her in a big bear hug.]

Long time no see, Jasper~!

[hardnosed]

What—

[ She's lost to (if you count the motives) at least three fusions, she's spent two months ducking under doors that didn't exist in a state that might as well be powerless, and this is, somehow, still the most undignified she's ever been in her life. Jasper's voice cuts off, but it takes two full seconds after that for her massive limbs to stop flailing awkwardly. She could fight back, certainly. She could attempt to incapacitate this unknown assailant, probably murderously. But the voice... ]

Alice?

[precognit]

Ding ding ding!

[she's in a RIDICULOUSLY good mood, even as she sets Jasper down—thud. Alice immediately dances around to Jasper's front, bouncing on her toes.]

Bet you weren't expecting that! I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.

[hardnosed]

[ She hits the sand with a loud and perfunctory sound of impact (or, you know, a thud), and starts furiously wheeling about just in time to see Alice... already well ahead of her, when it comes to getting face to face. Okay. ]

Looks like it.

[ There's no way for her not to think of their last longer conversation, before the second trial — when Jasper was acting smug about her capabilities, and she, hours from being doomed by her own, was happy to egg her on. ]

You never told me you were strong.

[precognit]

[Alice's expression is entirely delighted, the cat who got the cream. She preens a little bit, and then decides to throw in another quick display: she dances from foot to foot, zig-zagging in the sand in front of Jasper, and the movement is so swift and effortless that she turns into a black-and-white blur for a moment before she stops.]

You never asked. Teach you to judge a book by its cover!

[Alice's smile fades, and she heaves a big sigh.]

Glad you made it through okay.

[pimpplan]

Whoa, whoa, Jasper.

[ Zelos knows there's a solid chance of him getting yeeted if he even tries stopping her, but. He told Rose he'd try, so. Here he is. Look at him. ]

Yeah, she was with us when it all went down, but – but you gotta give her a chance to come to you. She's gotta, at some point.

[hardnosed]

Is that an order?

[ Oh, she's looking! And she's very visibly leaning into Zelos' sphere of existence and getting up in his business, which she doesn't particularly expect to phase him but is doing nonetheless. ]

Don't tell me what to do. Don't think you know her.

[pimpplan]

What? No, of course not.

[ He raises his hands up defensively, taking a small step back. Man, he forgot how imposing she actually was. ]

No, you're right, I don't know the whole situation, but that doesn't mean I don't know what she's talking about. She took the whole thing really hard, I don't think rushing her so soon is a good idea, is all.

[hardnosed]

What "whole thing"? Finally having to stop lying?

[pimpplan]

Actually, yes.

[ Since you asked! ]

Look, you don't have to listen to me, [ which he's fully expecting to happen ] just... consider not going in so hot, maybe?

[ He's gonna die. He knows it. ]

[lovelikeyou]

[Rose, for her part, pretty quickly made her way outside upon waking up. But it doesn't seem like she's really trying to hide from anyone - she's basically right in front of one of those big windows.

Of course hiding crossed her mind. It was even kinda tempting. But, after everything that's happened, it seemed a little pointless.]

[hardnosed]

[ If there's one, and only one, thing to be said about her, it's that she at least doesn't try to delay any of this. Maybe she doesn't initiate it, but she never expected her to. Jasper sees a massive head of pink hair from out the window, and mere moments later she's practically kicking the lighthouse door open and rushing out. On the bright side, she doesn't just walk through the wall and leave a cartoonish hole in the shape of herself behind! ]

I don't even know what to say to you.

[ Which is shockingly honest, all things considered. ]

[lovelikeyou]

That makes sense.

[Well, what else is she supposed to say to that? That she's sorry? She - well, that's complicated. There's things Rose is sorry for, and things she absolutely is not, and often, somehow, they're the exact same things.

She's never been sorry for leaving Pink's soldiers behind, really. She never imagined it mattered that much to them; they'd be sorted out into the other courts and that would be the end of it. Jasper seemed much more upset than she would have thought, but then again, they both know now that she would have hated Pink anyway.]

[hardnosed]

Yeah. It does.

[ And she can already feel the fury welling up inside of her, just like before... but it's not like before. Whether or not she likes it, nothing can ever be the same again. ]

Why did you do it? Don't give me that garbage about the planet, I know that. Why did you do [ and she casts one large hand in Rose's general direction ] this. Why did you keep at it for so long?

[lovelikeyou]

[This? Rose glances at Jasper, just for long enough to confirm that she is indeed gesturing towards Rose's entire person.

It's not something she's ever had to put into words. The only other person who knows already knew why. Maybe not all the reasons, exactly, but more than enough of them. A lot of them well up in her, about the other Diamonds and Earth, but...]

To be free. For all of us to be free.

[Freedom for herself is about the same as freedom for the others anyway, isn't it? Who could ever be free with a Diamond around?]

splash

[emberserker]

[Well, that came unexpectedly to at least one now-soaking-wet shouty teenager. She twitches as steam starts to rise up off her body.]

Was that necessary?

[hardnosed]

Yes.

[ And she's making her way on over, her hair all dry and newly-fluffy behind her. Looking at the steam: ]

What's that supposed to be?

[emberserker]

That is what happens to water when it heats up. Evaporation. The water cycle.

[Said through gritted teeth.]

At least you're having a good time.

[hardnosed]

Don't play dumb. Why is it happening on you.

[emberserker]

Because I'm not happy, and sometimes that happens. Temperature was always my specialty, after all.

Da Beach

[nothingcanstop]

[ Guess who's absolutely getting covered in water? Shoulda put her pilot goggles on. ]

Ah. It's a shower.

[hardnosed]

[ ... Oh, huh. In Della's case, she at least has the decency to look kind of sorry about it.

Which is not to say that she says sorry! Baby steps. ]

It's all back. Finally.

[nothingcanstop]

[ There are some things that'll never change!! ]

What's all- oh! Oh, you mean...all the Gem things you can do? ...Hoooow long were you under the water?

[hardnosed]

Long enough.

[ Specific! But there's less of a sense that she's just giving a brusque answer to be rude. If anything, she looks more content than before -- not happy, but secure.

She steps onto the beach. ]

What about you?