At the top of the globe bleachers, both Dexter and Rica face forth towards the Square which is still abundantly populated as anyone who leaves the area is replaced by more incoming, the stands constantly full as it takes not a full minute for any open seat to be taken. Above them in the blue sky are the sparse white clouds spread over the canvas, the cyan supersun completely in view at its peak, though the sunlight passing through is still somewhat dimmed.
However the two simply focus on their meals until Rica pauses her bites, not turning around but reclining while randomly considering, "You know…actually maybe we should go somewhere."
Again pausing his eating, Dexter doesn't need to turn his head to innocently ask with an uncertain tone, "Like…where? You want to go to a Center after work or something?"
Regardless of the genuine question born out of a true lack of context, Rica bursts into a giggle, leaning forward as Dexter does as well, turning to face her in bewilderment, asking intently, "Wait, what is it?"
Shaking her head as she controls herself, dampening her laughter with her words, she corrects playfully: "Sorry sorry that was my bad, I meant like a trip, vacation, somewhere either out of the city or out of the whole world. Sorry I just for a second thought you were offering to go to a mall for a vacation, you know it's something you'd do."
Huffing from the sly accusation, Dexter chooses not to directly engage it but considers the true proposition, facing forward once again with the clarification served. However it takes only a few seconds for him to question, "Wait, I assume you're talking about Christmas since that's the closest holiday, but is one day really enough to do an offworld trip?"
Reclining further as she lightly kicks her legs up and down leisurely, Rica takes a few small bites from her pizza before reminding, "Well we have leave on top of that, you know. I mean even just normal accumulated leave is probably enough for us to get at least a few days off, but I know for a fact you've been climbing up expansion hours so you probably wouldn't even need to dip into leave."
Taking a single bite out of the crust as that's all that's left of his first slice, Dexter munches until swallowing the piece to then concern, "But those are for emergency situations, like if I can't go into work one day and I need something to fall back on."
Lifting her free fist in the air, Rica raises her pointer finger as she prompts, "One: we already have emergency time for that exact reason," before raising her second finger while appending, "Two: if you really needed to call out for one day I'm sure they'd let you without caring anyways."
Pivoting to face her now after that second point, Dexter tilts his head and warns apprehensively, "Uh…I'm pretty sure I'd still get in trouble if I tried faking entire days, I can get seriously punished for that."
Without turning her head or even changing her relaxed posture, Rica just keeps her sights to the sky steadily darkening as though approaching evening, giggling before nonchalantly teasing, "You worry so much Dexter you're going to bald early like that."
Instinctively Dexter grabs his man bun, squeezing it once as though needing to remind himself that no such process is cursing him before he then retorts back, "I haven't had a single gray hair, I'll be fine."
While a few people among the bleachers around the two start raising their heads to the sky, murmuring in perplexity, Rica ignores the argument and instead simply asks, "So where do we go? Anything on the stash list for you?"
Regardless of his arguments doubting the ability to even obtain the time for a vacation, Dexter sighs in acknowledgement of defeat confirmed with his earnest answer, "Not really, I guess it's be neat to visit the globe cities on Earth 44 but I'm not sure if it's worth going for a couple days."
"We're taking off a week," corrects Rica bluntly, not in a counteroffer but simply a statement before reviewing, "Hm, Earth 44 isn't bad, I mean the Chips do look really cool, but it's just more cities. We should go somewhere with some more scenery. Honestly I don't know if we should even stay in the Core Worlds."
Leaning his head back with a hum as he was immediately complacent with the time demand for resistance would be futile, Dexter rummages through any ideas he could muster, spitballing casually: "Hm…I mean I guess maybe Earth 39? They have some nice vikings-esc village architecture from what I saw once, it could be interesting if you can get used to the desert heat."
Tilting her head from side to side in contemplation of that new idea, Rica still shows uncertainty as she judges, "I mean that doesn't sound bad…but I mean yeah it's just desert, which is something I guess but from what I remember it's nothing too unique. Viking villages don't sound bad though, it sounds cozy."
Digging deeper as that response, while more positive than the last, still isn't necessarily satisfactory, Dexter takes a few more bites of his pizza crust, finally able to finish his first slice. Rica glances over to his tray in notice of such, returning her gaze forward with the interrupting offer, "Want to trade our second Slices?"
His exploration paused, Dexter glances over towards Rica mystified, tilting his head and wondering, "Wait, I thought you said you don't like the Camillus Slices though."
After taking a few more bites as she's now a little more than two thirds done with her slice, Rica simply admits: "This Seaful Slice is pretty heavy and I don't think I can finish a second one. Don't worry about it, I was just looping you, I'm fine with that one."
Taking in the offer, Dexter ultimately shrugs his shoulders before accepting, "If you're fine with it," before grabbing his tray with one hand while reaching over to Rica's lap to grab hers, using both free hands to swap the trays around such that he places the one with the more plain slice with pepperoni in front of Rica and gifts himself the one more generously topped with diverse seafood. The traffic curving around the Square has since noticeably slowed down, as while it was naturally slow, they've decelerated to nearly a crawl.
He doesn't immediately grab the Slice though, but instead resumes his reflection in silence while Rica works her way through her first slice, mostly in silence, the two relaxing under the navy blue sky as a few people in the distant globe bleachers stand up to face the heavens, others pointing up to it. Focused on the vacation question though, Dexter muses until an idea comes to mind as he turns to face her and suggests, "Have you heard of the Ocean Forests on Earth 28? It's a bit farther I admit, but I believe they have cottages on the ocean floor, we could probably spend the entire week underwater."
At last Rica turns to face Dexter, the two exchanging eye contact as she flashes a captivated smile before exclaiming, "Wait, I think I've heard of that! That sounds really cool, heh I'm surprised you even pulled that idea but that might be the one! I need to look more into it but that sounds interesting, I like it!"
Huffing from the eventual acceptance, Dexter nods his head though cautions, "That sounds good, though if I recall correctly the better cottages fill up quickly, and Christmas week will likely be worse so we'd want to order this weekend if we want a good one."
Giggling from that earnest advice, Rica raises her hands up as she playfully jests, "Okay okay, don't worry we'll do it, heh I didn't think you'd be so pushy about it," all while the traffic above them comes to a full halt.
"Wait no I didn't-," Dexter instinctively begins to argue, though he catches himself early, recognizing the devious smirk on his friend like a fox waiting for a bunny to position itself to be pounced, and so he retracts himself with a huff, saving himself from falling into another trap. Instead he offers, "We can research more after work, I'm guessing you don't have any other plans after getting off?"
"Assuming I don't have a life now, huh Dex?" accuses Rica sarcastically to set up another trap only for Dexter to immediately and stoically answer, "You don't, do you," which is just as swiftly answered with an equally stoic, "No I don't."
After the chain of conversations between the two, there is finally an intermission of silence where the two just relax on their bench, returning their focus back to food as Dexter was still only halfway through his meal with Rica not even being that far despite the time they've been burning when earlier there was a sense of urgency. However now responding to that urgency, the two start to eat through their food quicker as Dexter picks up the Seaful Slice given by his friend and brings it to his mouth, making sure to carefully align it such that the seafood toppings don't slide off, and after doing so he takes his first bite of the pizza which includes oyster meat. At the same time beside him, Rica continues on her own Seaful Slice, at least more than three quarters done as she works her way up to the crust, her bites significantly smaller than Dexter's though she nibbles at a quicker rate. The breeze brushes against them, ruffling their clothes and blowing back Rica's hair momentarily, though Rica shows minimal reaction now that she's mostly adjusted, instead able to primarily focus on consumption.
However, as the people beside and around them start to murmur in tones majorly concerned and anxious, many of them standing up and facing the sky, they are once again distracted as suddenly the environmental chatter rises in volume. Simultaneously Dexter and Rica raise their heads, only a thin line of the pizza along the crust left for Rica whereas Dexter has reached about a quarter or so through his.
This is not the first instance that they have raised their heads to the sky nor the first instance since the gradual darkening for now the sky is at the brightness of imminent twilight, though that is exclusively the state of the sky, as what's stranger is that the supersun has not set but is rather at its peak height of noon, still seemingly burning bright cyan. Like a bright Moon over night, the sun quickly becomes the sole bright light in the sky, the sky still continuing to darken.
Both Rica and Dexter are entranced in astoundment, Rica's mouth left hung open as Dexter's eyes are just wide in bafflement, their hands still gripping their Slices though it's clear they've lost sight of that objective. They remain seated though, squashed between those standing, none of their murmurs easily coherent given the quantity of them mixing together, though the sense of confusion permeates them all.
Among those in the bleachers who are similarly stunned by the alien phenomenon are the three women still seated, though on the right side Casey stands up to which both Ember and Alina briefly glimpse at her before returning their attention back to the sky as Casey mutters softly, "Huh…what's going on?"
Now at the center of the attention from the whole Square, all those down on the plaza's floor stopped to face the sky among those in each of the globe bleachers surrounding the center where the five golden statues stand, everyone's attention has been turned to the sun paradoxically beaming through the twilight sky. Similarly the traffic above has been completely frozen, as if all the drivers in those countless pods in the sky have become hypnotized by the sight, even the beacons carrying vehicles to the cosmos or bringing them from have halted. In this moment it's as though the whole world has frozen, for the passage of time can only be identified with the breeze's effects on those down below and the motion of the holographic billboards alongside buildings. Perhaps at an altitude greater where there are fewer stories of the towering skyscrapers to wrap over the sky, there is a better view for the passengers.
Those on the bleachers have an elevated perspective, with those on the top bench at the greatest height in the Square, still vastly beneath the traffic many stories above but at least those standing have the fewest visual obstructions than those below them.
Through the eyes of one of those at the top bench, although seated beside the woman, both of them holding their Seaful Slices, there is witnessed an action perhaps as riveting as it is appalling, for the cyan supersun itself begins to darken, dimming rapidly to the immediate uproar in chatter amongst the crowd in the Square. Though most of the crowd's uproar intensifies to its climax upon the sight within seconds of the darkening where that supersun dims to utter blackness, or that is other than a ring of white light left along the edges like a halo, the only remnants of sunlight passing through, and at that moment the sky falls to the black of night.
Like all others within the crowd, immense mystification floods the viewer who lowers his head in a quick glimpse, though notices that subsequently past the field of silver towers along the horizon there can be seen a distant cyan haze like rays of sunlight though cast as a fiery ring wall stretching all around the city.
Staring at that horizon ring off in the distance, Dexter's wide crimson eyes are then moved as he turns his head to Rica, fighting over the conversational flood to inquire anxiously, "Wait, there was a total solar eclipse today? I didn't see anything about it, how did I miss it?"
Rica turns back to face him, the two still seated as people around them begin to stand and shuffle towards the stairs on the edges of the bleachers, trying to get a clearer look of the event, all of them in utter bewilderment though there is a subset who show excitement, some even cheering as though enthusiast to have encountered a total solar eclipse along its totality by utter chance, for Rica reinforces to Dexter in a tone more concerned, "No, I didn't hear anything about that, I'm sure I would've overheard it…."
Her attention is suddenly shifted away from him and up towards the traffic, which by curiosity draws Dexter's attention as well, the two focusing their sights between the towers ahead to find that oddly enough many of the pods, all of which now shine blue due in part to the lack of natural light, within the streams begin to descend below the lowest lane, slowly driving towards the streets as if parking. If only a couple were, this would be perhaps a normal occurrence as maybe either people are moving towards their original destinations or they wish to return to the surface to witness this sight in the open, however what's stranger is the sheer influx of these descenders, for many more begin every second from all vertical lanes, resulting in chaos as beeps of horns blare rapidly from all over the skies as drivers are forced to make space for these seemingly selfish drivers hoping for a view from the ground. They descend gracefully, not plummeting quickly but sinking cautiously, but with the mass at once it's as though the river itself is raining, the many blue raindrops sliding down the sky over the samely blue stream. While a few from the stands take notice of the mass parking, most fixate focus on the eclipse, a great number summoning holographic screens in front of them which provide a stream of that very eclipse sight to let them monitor the videos they're recording. More cheers are thrown amongst the crowd for an event usually occurring many years apart, perhaps generations at least in a focused area, is now taking place seemingly out of nowhere.
Among those enthralled cheers and roars there are many more that can be heard from far beyond the Square itself, but instead down the four streets branching off, echoing past the skyscrapers. Many shouts can be heard like cheers, some of which may vaguely resemble bone chilling shrieks and screams, perhaps those freaked out even more by this occurrence.
Staring up straight at the eclipsed sun, Casey smiles in marvel, her mouth hanging open as all that can be muttered is, "Woah…this is crazy!" Beside her Alina watches with a subtle frown as though nervous before she then turns to Ember who summons her own holographic screen to her side recording the view she's exposed to, documenting this footage for herself as while there are many others already doing that, she desires the same as she mentions, "I'm not sure if Kokei is seeing this, I need to show her!"
Alina softly asks apprehensively, "Wait Ember…did you know about this? I guess you're more into astronomy than me so-...."
Ember doesn't break her gaze from the sun though she does promptly answer avidly, "No I hadn't known this would happen, I must've just not heeded proper attention to those forums given the intensive work over the past couple weeks. I'm just glad we're in the totality line, I've never seen one in Versepolis before!"
Perplexed by her friend's own lack of precognition to this event despite seeming to have greater interest in this field, Alina just returns her gaze back to the sun with the murmur, "Huh…I guess this is neat."
Beside her, Casey also watches as the only one of the three standing, though her awestruck gaze morphs to an irritated confusion as she places one hand on the side of her shaking head. She then places both hands on her temples and rubs them as if to alleviate a headache, the muscles in her temples tensing. She softly mutters, "Wait…my head kind of hurts," as she squeezes her eyes shut which Alina notices with the turn of her head, and she extends her arm to grab Casey's elbow, anchoring her to sit back down as beside her Ember reprimands informatively though still facing the sky, "You were probably staring at the sun for too long before the eclipse, you're not supposed to look until totality," although to Casey that voice sounds somewhat muffled, as do all the others surrounding her.
Struggling a bit as she's unable to open her eyes, Casey does manage to sit back down on the bench, stumbling slightly though Alina's hold helps guide her. However even back on the ground, her headache doesn't cease but rather intensifies, prompting her to dig her hands harder against her head as her fingers clamp onto the temples for greater pressure, her shut eyes squeezing harder, tensing her head more as she moans anxiously, "I know it's just…it's hurting a lot…do you have any medicine or something I don't carry any but it's hurting a lot," though her own voice sits above a constant ringing sound gradually surfacing.
Alina frowns in meditation for a couple seconds before then turning towards Ember who she asks promptly, "Hey Ember, do you have any headache relief meds? Pillvil? Wyrtec?"
Still Ember maintains her astonished gaze at the eclipse as she casually answers, "No I don't, not with me right now." Those words are nearly as loud to Casey as the ringing that's growing in her head, the voices around her clouding, as though all sound from the world is struggling to reach from her ears to her brain.
Before a response from Alina could be given as the distant cheers dement to screams, Casey more intensely digs her nails into her head as her body begins to curl, and she wails in a voice seemingly in pain, "Guys my head is hurting a lot…does anyone have anything," though even her own words are difficult to understand as they compete against the ringing in a losing battle for the clouds have risen stronger. At least Ember shows greater concern as she finally breaks her gaze to turn towards Casey, same as Alina who frowns. Ember reaches her hand past Alina towards Casey in an attempt to comfort, asking "What's happening, is it too loud or-," which is just vaguely comprehensible though it's muffled as if Casey was drowning underwater, but that was how she felt in many ways as she could hardly see or hear, the pressure worsening on her head as if the world was slowly compressing her. Unable to even focus on her friends trying to aid her as the pain was simply unbearable, Casey's whole body curls up, and she exclaims in excruciation: "PLEASE, IT HURTS SO MUCH," just before her sky blue eyes flash black. Then, in a second so brief to the world yet arduous for her, the entirety of her head is expanded in a combustion that tears it apart, propelling the remaining crimson blood and pink guts outwards which splatters over the green benches and the bodies of those around her including both Alina and Ember, who immediately freeze in horror. For there was no remainder of a head, Casey's neck is all that's left open, spurting blood like a geyser before the corpse collapses on the bench.
Both Ember and Alina just sit in complete shock, unable to even stand, unable to speak, for the people on her other side and below turn their heads to find the corpse, and that's when one of them shrieks a bone chilling cry which alerts the surrounding area including the stands.
Not exclusively to the globe bleachers, but civilians down on the Square's ground take notice to the crying, breaking their attention from the infatuating eclipse sight before their engrossed grins transform to horrified grimaces, many of them screaming and staggering back, but amongst that crowd close to the bleachers there is one who screams from a different agony, an internal one, before his eyes flash back and just as abruptly his whole head explodes, splattering his guts over those around him.
Before the crowd can even properly react to the second explosion, one of those who witnessed it similarly explodes, and then seconds later there's another, and another, for every few seconds someone within the crowd combusts leaving nothing above the neck.
More pods continue to drop from the traffic, however it can be noted that while they do make a gentle landing, many of the time nobody exits the vehicle, and when they do, it's not from the driver's side but rather the passenger doors opening to reveal other adults or children crying in terror, many of their bodies washed in red and pink as a body remains in the driver seat, albeit without its head, for its remnants instead cover the dashboard.
In the other globe bleachers, a mass evacuation commences where people hurry down, some of them trying to push their way for the white staircase while others simply run down the benches in haste, however among the evacuees several of them explode, falling forward some of them onto others trying to escape who scream upon having the chunks of fellow people on them. Every second it seems another head explodes, or rather multiple do in rapid succession, their cries of agony mixing with the shrieks of terror, the only indication being the flash of black from their eyes before combustion.
Ember's frozen trance breaks when the teenager seated beside her opposite from Alina suddenly screams, grabbing onto her shoulder instinctively before her head explodes, triggering Ember to jump to her feet, stumbling backwards as the loose hand is released from her shoulder. Before she can emit a scream, she oddly winces as if in pain herself, instinctively placing her hand on the side of her own head as she loosely stumbles from side to side, moaning softly: "Alina…my head-," which immediately breaks Alina's trance as she swiftly turns to face her other friend at the exact moment to have her face covered in Ember's splattering head, indigo strands of her hair propelled in all directions like streamers.
Speechless from the absolute horror, unable to even process what had just occurred, Alina just sits dumbfounded as above her both Dexter and Rica watch similarly silently before their gazes are diverted to find others amongst the bleachers explode, some of them being those trying desperately to leave the stands, crying to each other to move faster though not everyone seeks escape.
Neither Dexter nor Rica could move their legs, at least not blocking anyone's escape given they're at the center of the top level, but they're able to bear witness with perhaps the clearest sight, watching couples run down the stands before one or both explode, great exoduses exiting the Space Square plaza though even those in the branching streets fall to the ground, leaving their guts all over the metal roads and people around them.
Dexter's gaze continuously shifts as the rate of these quick collapses are faster than what he can keep up with, his head on a swivel as it moves from the bleachers to the plaza center then to the streets then to the skies as a sizable portion of the beacon highways interacting with the heavens begin to splinter off, thinning out similarly to the traffic between the skyscrapers.
His attention however is more intensely called upon as he's grabbed on the shoulder, turning to his side to find Rica with her other hand on her head, the remainder of her Slice left on the seat beside her. She flinches before moaning gently, "Dex…my…my head…it's pulsating…."
Instantly there Dexter's crimson eyes widen and, without thinking for this action isn't one made consciously, he leans forward and wraps both arms around Rica, pulling her into a tight embrace as words are randomly spoken through his mouth, "Hey hey hey hey don't worry don't worry."
Not even shocked by the sudden physical affection, Rica instead reciprocates as she drops her hand from her head, wrapping both arms around Dexter too, resting her head on his shoulder as she softly wails, "Dex please, it's hurting a lot, Dex I don't know what to do it's hurting more it keeps hurting."
As more civilians below them explode, horrifying anyone around them though some of those witnesses explode seconds later, Dexter's focus fixates exclusively on his friend who he comforts delicately in a near whisper, "Rica, just listen to me, you're going to be fine, just stay with me and you're going to be fine, don't worry."
As the pods fall from the sky, Rica more intensely grips Dexter's shoulders in her embrace, her grimace tensing as does the strain in her voice when she cries with tearing eyes, "Dex please I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, please stop it."
Tightening his own embrace on her, Dexter squeezes her as tightly as he can against himself, raising one of his hands to place it softly on the back of his friend's head caressingly, which does somewhat alleviate her as her eyes shuts though that's also in part by the pain beginning to overwhelm her which Dexter nurtures, "Listen to me Rica, just listen to me, forget everything else and listen to me. You're going to be fine. Everything's going to be okay. Don't worry, just breathe, you're going to be fine Rica, you're strong, you're fine. Just breathe, just do that for me."
Obliging as she begins breathing heavily and rapidly, more so hyperventilating though if anything, Rica tugs onto Dexter's body and tilts her head subtly to nudge it against his, physically comforting herself any way she can as she wails, "Dex I don't want to go I don't want to lose this I don't want to lose you-," which he interrupts still in a voice attempting to be gentle albeit audibly wavering: "Shhh Rica don't worry, you'll be fine, just focus on my voice and don't think about anything else, I'll take the week off and we can go-," but before he can finish his promise, a black flash emits through his friend's closed eyes, and her head fulminates, smearing one side of his head in reds and pinks, gray matter sliding down the red liquid, for not even shrapnel of the skull existed as if it was utterly vaporized. Her arms remain wrapped around his shoulders, however the tenacity of which they pull is loosened, for they don't grip his body but instead rest on it. On the contrary, Dexter's arm remains tightly wrapped around Rica's body, although the head resting against his shoulder is no longer present as his other hand instead just lingers in the air, for all that remains is the spout being her neck which splurts a few shots of blood before being rendered still.
Similarly though Dexter just remains frozen, his crimson eyes wide in a mixture of intense emotions all culminating to a dreadful agony, half of his head covered in the remains of his friend which has drenched his black hair too, bits stuck in his man bun. But all he can do is just sit there, holding what is now his friend's corpse, his mouth shut, silent.
Though the world is far from silent, as down on the plaza bodies continue to fall, bodies of elders, working adults, teenagers and less, many of them sprinting out of the plaza but many of them failing to reach the black roads before their eyes flash and they subsequently fall.
Among the center, a mob hordes over the central crest platform, surrounding the five golden statues as if in prayer, some of them even tugging onto the figures as if they were capable of response, however in doing so they soil those very sculptures with their guts, drenching the track suits, dresses, and the fiber woven suit with the pencil insignia on the center of the chest.
However this scene wasn't exclusive within the city, for on the beach further away where the black sun is gradually setting, among the line of people departing for the forest after having their eventful meal, several people abruptly scream in agony before their heads explode, abruptly shocking those around them who stumble away before squealing in utter bewilderment.
Within the square food booth, both Vincent and Walker immediately notice the disturbance, shock covering them as a few of the nearby men in those blazers with green trims glance at it though they then turn to the booth before sprinting towards the two present as one of them aggressively shouts, "HEY, SHOW YOUR HANDS AND DON'T MOVE!"
Immediately both Vincent and Walker stumble back from the sudden antagonization, Walker specifically raising his two hands in the air before pleading, "Wait I'm not doing anything I swear!" However the response team he speaks to is halved as two of them lose their heads in sudden explosions, triggering the remaining two to glare at Walker in rage as though assuming those were direct attacks.
Realizing this inference, Walker steps back again, keeping his hands in the air as he desperately cries, "Please, it wasn't me," though he lowers his hands to place on his head before he suddenly groans, "Ah god why is it hurting now-," before his eyes flash black and his head subsequently explodes, covering the nearby tables of equipment as well as Vincent in his guts, the latter of whom stumbles back with horrified eyes as he instantly screams, "WALKER," before racing up to him to catch his collapsing body.
Not exclusive to that world either, but in another world where the eclipsed sun is significantly larger, at least visible through the windows of a large room resembling a courtroom given the long tables at the three ends where adults are seated, those at the front end dressed all in white opposite from several benches in the back where others are sitting though not exclusively adults, there are two tables in the middle where on the left table is seated two people, a senile bald man dressed in a formal suit with a black blazer and purple tie beside a young man dressed also in a formal suit with a white buttoned shirt, sporting short brown hair.
Both of the two sit behind another man who is in an age between the two, not young though still carrying hair with unwrinkled skin, dressed in a black blazer with a vibrant red buttoned up shirt underneath, pacing back and forth in front of the table with his hands in motion, speaking to the adults in white suits as the three adults on the other table similarly listen, albeit one of them appears distressed with their hand on their head. Seconds later that one's head suddenly explodes, halting focus of the trial as everyone in the courtroom turns to find the corpse, many of them screaming before some in the audience lose theirs too, amplifying the chaos as people rise from their seats to sprint away, both of the men on the other table rising from their chairs in preparation to evacuate as the judges in white don't even seem certain of how to react.
The senile man turns around to run off, however his arm is grabbed by the younger man who has a light brown beard above blue eyes which are squeezed shut as he groans, "Mister Gray, I think something's wrong with me-," before his head suddenly explodes, drenching the senile man's suit as he turns his head towards the companion just a moment too late, his eyes widening above his groomed mustache and goatee, his jaw dropping wordless. He staggers forward and clutches the body before uttering in disbelief, "Jerry…?"
On the opposite side of the Superverse, in the snowy mountaintops under the black sky among the white halo where the army of pirates fight alongside the Bellators against the horde of beasts whose face is simply a horrifyingly large mouth that shuts repeatedly in an effort to bite down their opponents, the golden cyborg sprints alongside the woman with the white leather jacket holding daggers made of hardened blood, the other in purple overalls whose hands carry an icy mist, and the last in heavy knight armor keeping up the red light shield.
In the intense battlefield there are screams and cries, not entirely unfitting for this grave circumstance, for the four keep focus on their battle, throwing blood daggers and icicles into the beasts which stagger them backwards before they fall to the ground. They remain protected by the light shield maintained by the knight, however said knight winces as she places her hand on her head before muttering, "Wait Ruby give me a second-," before the head in that armor pops, and the shield subsequently deactivates, leaving the remaining three to stop in place and turn around in horror, the cyborg instinctively deploying several tentacles from their back whose tips expand physical shields to protect them in this moment of distraction.
Not only is the abrupt death terrifying, but by turning around they are subjected to the sight of the field behind them, finding many of the other pirates cry before their heads randomly explode despite being distant from the monsters. Dana watches as Ruby stumbles forward, away from the enemies, her mouth hanging open, however Dana's attention is turned to the side as Bea oddly grabs her shoulder for support just before her head explodes, triggering Dana to step back in utter bafflement before witnessing Ruby's head immediately erupt, almost instantly secluding Dana who observes the incoming beasts she had no true lethality against, forcing her to ditch the ground as she leaps in the air with her thrusters. At a greater altitude, she at least is able to spin around to get a better view of the transforming battle field, gazing further on ahead to her goal that being Mary who continues to weave between the mob, slashing them with yellow lightning daggers while being supported from above by Beagle, though despite his earnest support to protect her from the monsters he fails to protect her from her head suddenly exploding, to which he bellows in distress, "MARY," before diving straight into the horde to recover her.
Witness to this random and cruel counterattack, Dana just hovers in the air, disoriented, unable to make sense of her own observations as the one she was meaning to protect had just been defeated without being physically grazed by the monsters.
One minute passes.
Beneath the rocky ceiling of the cavernous city, Mavrik places his hands in his bomber jacket's pocket as he strolls off into an alley aimlessly between the dirt composite buildings, leaving the streets among which Junco stands, waving towards the man who had rescued him. A gentle smile sits on Mavrik from a sense of what may be pride in having rescued the teenage boy, though his focus remains ahead, walking down the secluded alley where he steps over the littered glass shards beside the dumpsters.
His calm amble however is interrupted upon oddly hearing crying not in the alleys but the streets themselves, a strange occurrence as assaults and other crimes would typically occur only in secluded areas rather than the bustling roads themselves. Pausing in place as this sort of call was further concerning from the fact that an attack this confident may be far more devastating, Mavrik is quick to pull out the heavy pistol from his pocket, spinning around in preparation to fight this threat, however he pauses midway to place the hand holding the weapon on his head, gritting his teeth in a strange ache.
He clenches his teeth harder as that ache only grows, and he winces before calling, "Talk to me Lai," however in response his eyes flash black before his head explodes, splattering his guts over the alleyway and nearby dumpster, drenching the dark green with reds.
Within the command station in the tallest tower of the lunar base, visible from beyond the transparent spherical walls where there can be seen the many other towers shaped as white spikes with black globes at the tip all encased within a shorter ring wall to mark the campus, except for the huge telescope device facing the colossal black sun despite there being no moon to block it, consuming almost half of the window screen's view as up close there can't even be seen the flares but rather the texture is more reminiscent of water, adults in navy blue uniforms with the signature epaulets chaotically sprint back and forth as many of the screens on the long ring tabletops show flashing red icons. Racing on the skeletal frame floor includes the commander who has a smooth white beard and amber eyes, turning towards a familiar woman before demanding, "What's going on?"
The woman turns to the commander before exclaiming frantically, "I don't know, we're getting reports from our base and all the others in the sector that personnel are mysteriously-," though her report is interrupted as her head explodes, resulting in a greater panic within the very station as people begin screaming. In silence, the commander just lowers his head and places his hands on his uniform, finding it now drenched in blood, but before he can compose a coherent thought his head bursts too, only worsening the state of those around him, many of whom though similarly explode, rapidly reducing those left crying.
Two minutes pass.
Traveling within the bus pod along the cosmic highway, crowds of employees either in business suits or black jumpsuits crowd over the windows along the side to try gazing towards the black star in the general direction they're traveling to, making their retreat to their home world though completely astounded by the phenomenon occurring.
One of those inside the bus dressed in the black jumpsuits has the familiar brown beard with short wavy hair, staring with dreadful fascination at the sun as he mutters to himself, "I hope Dana's safe now, I'm still not getting any statuses-," until his head bursts over his coworkers, who turn to him and shriek, backing away though another in the bus explodes, drawing in greater panic.
Immediately coworkers sprint towards the front of the bus though they're reminded that there are no human drivers, although a defensive system does automatically trigger as the balanced white light of the bus switches to a flashing red, detecting an anomaly threatening the occupants though there's no discernible source, not for the first victim, not for the second, and not for the third and fourth as more workers both dressed in business attire or the jumpsuits explode abruptly, though there's little room for the remainders to hide in due to the limited bus space and the inability to exit as it still travels through the cold vacuum of space.
All that can be done is to hide behind the seats, however even then some of the survivors that do so explode regardless, for there's truly no protection from the invisible attack.
Still the bus travels towards its destination, being the building composed of many rooms including a large meeting space with clean white walls and floors, broken up only by the closed gray door. In the center of the room is a long oval-shaped tabletop with a glossy white surface, surrounded by eight hovering chairs made of black leather in an Executive style, seven of them occupied by adults in business jackets and buttoned up shirts, all of them facing down the far short end where stands a similarly dressed woman with a long black ponytail. That woman sighs before shaking her head, disappointed to announce, "I still can't get a line to Dana, she must still be on the trip. I thought she'd be back by now, what's taking them so long?"
Among the adults in the chairs ia an elderly bald man, a blonde man whose hair is tied in a man bun, another man with short light brown hair albeit darker trims on the sides who sports thin glasses, a woman with free long black hair, another with forest green hair, and the last woman with a bowl cut hairstyle, that last one shrugging her shoulders before questioning, "Should we reschedule for later today, Crystal? My schedule's rather packed but I can find some spots," though a few of the men don't focus on this exchange but instead the closed door where they hear a strange stampede of footsteps and shouts muffled behind the enclosure. More of the adults take notice to the door however until even the woman with the bowl cut seated on the other end of the table opposite from the one with the ponytail is forced to take notice, her eyebrow raising as Crystal's response, "If we can Lisi, that'd be great-," is cut off as she too is distracted by the door.
She watches over the woman with the bowl cut, or that is until that very woman places her hand on her head and groans, "Ah, migraine," before her eyes flash black and her head abruptly bursts, splattering red all over the white table and floor including her colleagues who throw themselves off the chairs and scream in terror. One of those colleagues is the man wearing those glasses who seconds later pops his head too, to which the old man stumbles backwards in horror, crying: "LARAM!" as the one with the blonde hair races for the gray door which vaporizes upon his proximity, allowing entry into the corridor that's intensely crowded, well groomed adults shoving themselves through to move along. The remaining four previously seated board members follow before Crystal does the same with terrified eyes, trailing the group beside the woman with forest green hair who just then explodes, throwing Crystal in a stumble to the side as the blood drenches her blazer. Still, the remaining members run through the door, and after Crystal whispers, "Marge…" before holding herself back from vomiting as her cheeks puff to catch her gag, she exits the meeting room too.
Almost immediately Crystal is stopped in place from the sheer volume as though there's a building-wide evacuation, for she can't even see the white walls of the corridor nor where the destination everyone seeks is. Her head swivels in entranced shock, though in doing so she doesn't notice a woman running towards her before tripping on her high heel, nearly flying forward to which Crystal's eyes widen. She spins to find that woman falling to the ground to which Crystal instinctively catches her fall using both hands, quick to apologize, "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?"
Shaking her head in assurance to Crystal who winces, the woman whose clearly distraught for greater reason obliges, "Thank you, I'm fine, thanks for-," though she's interrupted as the eyes of the very woman who saved her immediately flashes black before her head bursts, splattering her face with guts and blood, silencing her in horror. Her reaction comes seconds later as she pushes herself off the headless corpse, stumbling back before spinning and sprinting along with the crowd, the floor not perfectly smooth but instead bumpy with corpses laid all over, their bodies trampled as the tidy dress shoes and heels of the fellow coworkers are wetted in their blood. More of the evacuees add to these bumps as among the crowd there are those who explode, falling forward, slumping on others before hitting the ground with the rest.
Back on the Earth where the train that was holding hostages has since crashed, Kokei staggers backwards as she's chased down by a monster who leaps at her with open claws, however that monster is grabbed by the neck and thrown by a hand not physical but rather a manifestation composed of a watery material, maintaining solidity off the shoulder of a pirate who runs in front of her. She glances at Kokei with a smile as three other of these watery arms also move from her shoulders, two on each, some of which autonomously throw punches at the incoming horde while others grab them to toss them backwards.
Aided in a moment of near defeat, Kokei is offered the real physical hand of the pirate who saved her, assuring: "Come on, we need to keep going," to which Kokei nods and extends her own hand to receive the help, however the head of the pirate saving her just then combusts, drenching the white snow in red, leaving Kokei dumbfounded to find the water arms lose solidity and evaporate in the air before the body plummets to the ground.
Stepping over the headless corpse, another monster approaches Kokei who crawls backwards, still on the ground and disoriented, helpless to the beast who raises one arm in preparation for a swing before another woman runs to her side, dressed in a black suit with white hair, crossing her arms over her chest as her whole body emits a gentle bubble shield that upon contact with the monster causes it to be repelled backwards. More monsters chase this pirate who manages to ward them off, this bubble shield not only protecting her as none of the attempted slashes cut her skin, but the barrier blasts those enemies backwards, one of them falling on the ground beside her feet which she lifts to stomp on its chest rather brazenly, causing the monster to shriek as it's dug into the ground from the repulsion, buried rapidly.
Fending off the attack, Kokei is quick to pick herself back up, no longer needing to crawl on the ground but also not waiting to be offered another hand as she understands these newfound allies would also need help. Thus after standing back up, her body begins sparking with pink lightning in preparation to fight back, only to witness the girl with white hair, who isn't even at this very moment being struck at, shriek wildly before her head bursts.
Frozen in place from the inexplicable horror, Kokei just watches as that second ally falls to the ground, and she turns around to find that the reinforcements aren't so heroically fighting but instead scattering aimlessly as their heads just abruptly explode without any warnings other than the sudden screams. She glances over to where the other leads are before crying out, "EKI????" However she watches her friend in the brown overcoat continue to run alongside the purple samurai, just standing stunned in place, her whole body still emitting wild pink arcs which freeze the monsters around her in place though she makes no effort to dispel them any further or even step away herself. She just stands, turning her head to watch the eroding battlefield, for every second another warrior drops, another group squealing some of whom subsequently fall. Then, she places her own hand on the side of her head.
Three minutes pass.
Slowly The Stem of The White Tree Turns Black.
Underneath the colossal black sun, citizens run along the streets over corpses beside the blue sharp skyscrapers of Earth 1, crying as more of them are blown up, heads erupting at random, falling to the ground before being trampled.
Screams permeate the islands of golden towers, those white roads turned to red, civilians dropping every second in mass.
Inside offices, workers race for the exits as their heads burst, dropping them to the ground to be trampled over by other employees desperate for escape, some of them knocking into the chairs and tables, some even vaulting over as this panic overrides any sense of regular workplace etiquettes.
By beaches, couples sits beside each other in secluded areas, dressed in luxurious dresses and suits, relaxing in their honeymoon as they watch the white moon over the regular night sky, however one places their hand on her head before it bursts, leading to the other to stumble out of their chair and cry frantically.
Inside houses where mothers and fathers dine on wooden tables with their children, teenagers and younger, helping themselves to plates of spaghetti and meatballs, those very parents suddenly shout before their heads explode, leading to their children crying in confused panic before the teenagers also burst, further isolating the family to be picked off one by one.
Inside college lecture halls, students run for the doors in panic away from the headless professor who is now splattered all over the podium, though many of those students explode as they make their way up the stairs. Among those students, a pair runs together through the exit out into the wide hallway full of evacuating students and staff where along the wall is a black banner reading the cyan title: 'Superversal Academy of Tomorrow', a boy holding the hand of a girl to escort her out, however as the girl turns her head to watch all her classmates fall to the ground, unable to keep up beside her, she turns back to the boy with uncertainty before tugging her arm back, pulling back the boy who stops to face her. He watches as the girl tears up in front of him, clearly distressed with the sights around her, and she suddenly raises her free hand to place it inside her mouth. Immediately the boy screams and throws his free hand towards the girl just as the skin of the girl's arm transforms to an acidic green, and her finger propels a single shot of acid straight through her mouth, penetrating through her head as she promptly falls to the ground. The boy staggers backwards in horror, having watched his friend just take her own life simply to avoid an inevitable fate; he just stands in place while his own fellow colleagues run over her body, trampling her as they brush against him, unable to spare even the respect of navigating around her. He just stares blankly at the ground before he squeezes his eyes shut and screams before his eyes flash black and his head bursts next.
Four minutes pass.
Slowly The Branches of The White Tree From The Base Turn Black.
Similarly, men in yellow hard hats scream before their heads explode in their break rooms among colleagues, many of whom are laying on the ground headless.
Similarly, parents in hospital rooms bringing their children to survey their grandparents laying on nursing beds scream as those grandparents explode before those very parents do too.
Similarly, waitresses in restaurants shriek while taking orders before their heads explode covering the customer's table.
Slowly The Branches of The White Tree All From The Base To The Center Turn Black.
Similarly, teachers in classrooms scream before exploding.
Similarly, elders on benches cry before exploding.
Similarly, partners laying on beds intimately cuddled to their significant other squeal before exploding.
Similarly, officers dressed in bright blue suits bawl before exploding.
Similarly, teenagers hanging out with friends in halls whine before exploding.
Similarly, seniors scream.
Similarly, adults scream.
Similarly, children scream.
Similarly, Meditat screams, his wide azure eyes visible between the large stone fingers tightly gripping his face. He screams as if being tortured, boiled alive, the greatest scream he's emitted for he experiences the agony of death at a rate melting him inside. Yet he cannot move, for he's held still, being forced up the stem of the White Tree along the tunnel within the white void, the white rays composing the walls being flooded in with black rays that crawl into the branching paths rapidly. Despite the horrors he bears witness to, he cannot fight, for he cannot even control his own body, only able to scream at the top of his lungs as he's climbed to the top.
Five minutes have passed.
At Last, The White Tree Has Been Turned Black.
Over the snowy mountaintops by the crashed golden train, Dana still in the air surveys the fact that the rapid slaughtering of the pirates have suddenly ceased, as while before: every second another ally dropped, now seconds were passing and there wasn't a single loss. She glances around through her faceless golden gaze to keep on alert, oddly enough only able to find pirates armed with physical weaponry left standing, not a single one with visible superhuman abilities still on their feet.
Her gaze is then shifted up to the black sun to find it begin to brighten gradually once again, and in the matter of seconds the white halo spreads over the orb, returning the full body back to its natural cyan shade as the darkness ceases. The ring of sunlight along the horizon is extinguished as natural light is brought back down to the environment, from night to day so quickly as though there was a sunrise when in actuality the sun's position hadn't changed.
Swiveling around once again Dana then observes the black monsters still in motion, charging at the remaining pirates, or that is until they oddly suspend, freezing completely, some of them mere feet away from potential victims who stumble backwards in fright. However it's not as though they simply stop, but rather their poses are locked, turned to statues, covering the battlefield now vastly outnumbering the bandits but no longer attacking.
Her attention is then called upon hearing a strange familiar growling sound, not of the monsters themselves but the roots they emerged from. This sound is coming from a single source which she turns her head to, that being the colossal black tree that towers over all other structures. Similarly many of the others left standing take notice of the tree, including Ekitai who approaches it cautiously beside Rezzo, keeping his handgun raised for any threats.
For just a moment the black tree lights up with white caustics, and all the sudden a black flash flickers in front of the base, but where that flash flickers now hovers the stone body of the intimidating opponent who just glares forward through those hollow sockets, staring at the body held in its hand by the face, the still body of Meditat whose cape waves in the breeze same as his hair, for his face is unmasked.
Quickly Ekitai and Rezzo stumble backwards from the abrupt reemergence of the menacing monster, as do the other pirates who have lost any of their confidence to throw themselves into direct engagement, instead watching in silence as the Fallen glances around the battlefield, noting that about half of the pirates no longer stand, though the black monsters do. Its hollow eyes flash once from caustics flooding in swiftly, and all the sudden those black monsters combust into what seems to be a pool of black water, splashing over the white snow. Similarly the distant titanic roots that were functioning as gateways for these beasts combust in splashes, losing their rigidity and simply washing over the ground and train.
Beagle stumbles away from the frozen monsters as they break into liquid, protecting Mary's corpse as if afraid that the liquid itself would have an effect, though just a second after splashing on the ground the black liquid oddly evaporates with flickers.
All across the wide battlefield, every single beast is dispersed in rapid succession, hundreds diffused in only a couple seconds, unnerving even the remaining pirates from how quickly their enemies were simply removed. At the same time the many roots were all dissolved after being dispelled to liquid, the final roots gone.
They then turn back to the final remaining enemy just standing about a foot in the air perfectly still, unable to draw their own weapons including Ekitai on the ground, standing only about ten feet in front of the two, as well as Dana hovering in the air further back, also having a straightforward sight.
After one quick gaze around the mountaintops for confirmation, the Fallen returns its glare to Meditat before speaking in its extraterrestrial echoes, "You did not fail me, impressive."
Gradually the branches of the titanic black tree rain as liquids that splatter on the rocky debris before evaporating, collapsing in front of the one who had entered through it.
It then relinquishes its grip on Meditat's face, letting the man drop to the snow ground on his knees, though he still doesn't move as if paralyzed. He doesn't even turn to face the one who determines, "We'll succeed properly in our next interaction," before departing in another black flash, simply vanishing in a blink just as the stem of the black tree washes down completely, covering the rocks beneath it before it too dissolves.
Seconds after the departure, Dana thrusts herself like a rocket straight for Meditat, bolting herself to the ground in a second, landing on her feet and stumbling forward to grab his shoulders. She drops a knee to meet his eye level, also using herself as a wall to block his face from other people's vision as Ekitai's focus diverts off to the side before he begins jogging away curiously. Rezzo glances over to track him, but before he can follow he instead has his attention shifted to the sky where Beagle drops from, landing on the ground after flight, carrying the remaining corpse of Mary, using his cape to conceal her neck as to hide what was missing above it. Rezzo's mouth drops in shock from the sight, stepping up to him and examining the body, wincing with his eyes squeezed shut as though trying to combat tears.
From a mountaintop bustling with rageful roars and monstrous screams, gunshots, missiles, flames, and many more projectiles that were firing on the horde, there is only the gusts of wind that lingers over what would otherwise be utter silence, allowing the surviving pirates to begin roaming around to the bodies of their fallen comrades, some of them dropping on their knees and others beginning to weep quietly. A part of this scene could be observed from Meditat's perspective, as his eyes are indeed open, though it's unclear if he's even properly perceiving his environment for his body is entirely still, mouth left open in frozen horror, paralyzed.
The reflection of that haunted face is cast on the golden head of Dana who sighs softly after observing this unfortunate state, and she alas stands back up to her feet, turning around to survey the rest of the lands or at least what remains of it, a battle that did result in the extinguishment of the monsters yet it was nothing like a victory.
Under the blue and gray skies, the mountaintop of this isolated world remains silent beneath the passing winds, the surface a mixture of white and red beside the crashed golden train, bodies littered in mass numbers as the other half mourn over.
At last the mission was over, the intended evacuees were now safe from containment, and the enemies were neutralized.
This long day could finally come to an end, a mission initializing as a simple rescue operation to save a friend and their allies which ended up resulting in a catastrophe so exaggeratedly greater that in the end the success of the mission felt practically negligible.
For that day had changed the Superverse for everyone.