*Beep.* The door in front of you swiftly opens. You enter onto a platform from your dreams - a circular one, encircling a dome, the iron on the walls some silvery-white, the center illuminated by your fears - The Rift. Its presence is menacing. You peer into it, seeing naught but static, the shattered lines dotting all around, the monochrome colors blurring together - and then you see it. A small portal into another realm. Flashing imagery goes by at a million miles per hour - kilometers per hour - meters per second - all in sepia, all in greyscale, all in one nation, under God... "Stay back from that!", you instruct your team. "There's only evil in there. We need to close it as soon as possible." Then, you hear a taunting voice. It's her. The Lady, emerging from behind the rift, hovering in the air, achromatic sparks rippling through her outstretched hands. You all take a stance, ready for combat. "Ahoho~ Well, if it isn't Era, his escort, and the backup dancers. You guys here for the special?" You look her over. She wore the same thing you saw her in at the other end of the hall - red, sparkly dress, crimson as the blood you're about to spill, hair as blonde as the wind, and those... strange fleshy orbs on her chest. Toby stops for a second, clearly unaware of the danger of the situation. "Ma'am, are you sick? What's with the bulbs?" The Lady is taken aback. "Oh, these? They're called *boobs*. You guys don't know about them?" You look around. Not you, nor any of your party members, have "boobs". "L-look, we're not interested in that! Shut down this rift, now! It's shattered the sun beyond repair, and the Knights are *furious*. Do you know what you're doing?" You're furious with what she's been doing. The Lady chuckles. No, she laughs. No, she's burst out into a maniacal, evil, sinister laughter. "Do I know what I'm doing? Asked by my head strategist, my protégé, the gift I was given when you were merely *born?* I thought you would know why I'm reopening the Rift by now." She extends a hand upwards, looking into it, as if to hold the whole thing in her grasp - and as she does, the Rift starts to fracture into Reality a little. "This is the gateway to another world, Era. One where power and greed and hatred consumes the spirit of its denizens. One where chaos runs rampant, one where the ideals have been crafted over and over as to make everyone *subservient*. It is the ultimate goal of the Synths to follow in their example." Mako steps up to your level, readying her crossbow. "Close it, lady. This isn't what the Synths were meant for. Everyone has a place in The Plane, including me!" The Lady almost starts to laugh again. "Ha! You think you measly *Cybers* are any match for me?" But then, Toby steps up to bat, aiming his cannon. "We are not Cybers, ma'am. We are *Cyborgs*, and we are as equal as you are. You're not even a Synth yourself." And then, finally, the mage, Edgie. "The Knights have deigned for this world to be apart from external meddling. You have wronged their path for us. You will pay." You all coalesce, together, and say your prayers. Mako starts. "In the name of Materia!-" Then Toby. "In the name of Flame!-" Then Edgie. "In the name of Honor!-" Then, you. "And in the name of Life!-" Then, all together, # "We're taking back the night!" With the little room you have to navigate, you still feel confident your team can maneuver. The board is circular, so it's a matter of dodging attacks while keeping on the heat. Toby goes one way, and you follow, while Edgie and Mako go the other way, as The Lady prepares and doles out an onslaught of sparkly electricity, something you *know* you've been hit by before. You can't do much from here, but then you remember your Line - the ace up your sleeve that your weapon holds. You carefully turn it into its whip form, and slash it as hard as you can at The Lady, and while she dodges, it creates a line long enough for you to jump off of the railing and onto, just barely hitching onto the platform as it materializes. You don't have access to your weapon while riding, though, so your primary mission is confusion and information gathering. The Lady chases after you as you encircle the rift a few times over. She's hurling bolts of static and lightning, and insults, which hurt more than any scar would. You keep up the pace, though, narrowly avoiding attacks, until around about your 4th or 5th round about the Rift, when you notice a screen on the dome, which appears to be an observation area. It's a darkened window, but it seems to be a nice target, anyways. Without warning, you shift your weight, aiming for it. You're travelling headfirst in what's probably unnecessary speeds, but at this point, nothing is unnecessary to you. ### Crash! You barely manage to fumble into the window, tumbling through behind landing, kneeled. You look back to the opening you made - The Lady is desperately trying to claw just before it, but an unseen force is holding her back - you don't have time to think. There's a Guard in front of you, which you swiftly dispatch by slicing just once across his belly, removing the mirage of his image, reducing him to his vending-machine-esque state. From there, to your left, is a panel of buttons, levers, toggles, and screens. The knowledge of how to operate it comes easily, so you inspect the panel, taking note of every button, every interface, every minute detail... And create a large gash in the center, slicing the console out of order. The rift in the center of the done grows larger than before, starting to show a little vacuum, though it seems everyone can resist the pull by hanging onto the side rails. The Lady, similarly, it trying to hover away into the observation room, but is struggling to do so. You meet her gaze, draw your weapon, and point it at her. "You think that world has what what it takes? You think it's alright to defile the will of The Knights? The sky is fractures, and it is your doing, and solely your doing. Though you have never spilt a drop of blood yourself, I have done so countless times in your name. For that, I do not think I can forgive you. For that, I will cast you into the world you so lovingly desire." With a kick of your leg, you push the lady off balance, causing her to be drawn into the rift. She flails, but doesn't seem to call out to you. Perhaps she's accepted her fate? With that, The Rift comes to a close. It withdraws strangely, first bulging a little, before receding into its own cracks, before dissipating into a sparkle of confetti. With that, you pass out on the floor of the observation room. ``` --[Notice!]-- Non-Canonical Ending reached. Given Title: Sealer of Rifts GAME OVER! ``` ``` YOU: That can't be right... We did everything we could, didn't we? JE: i just pressed some buttons for you since you cant be bothered YOU: What, you aren't enjoying this? JE: just writing things down. seems pretty serious but im not really the bookish type JE: i appreciate you doing all the voices, though YOU: You do...? JE: yah itll give me something to laugh at later lmao YOU: Grumble mumble... I'm still peeved off at this. This felt really final, you know? JE: theres other paths dude. run it back maybe? YOU: Alright, fine... ``` ### -> [[Play]]