FRIDAY JULY 8TH, 2011
(The God Machine)

8:07 AM
Early bird gets the worm, journal! Or in our case, the early, uh… Cockroach Jesus gets the.. Cipher! Yeah!
..wait a minute. I’m on the Exodus.
And I'm alone.

8:10 AM
“Attention, patrons. Captain America speaking. I hope you enjoyed your stay flying over the Cape Cod Expansion, thank you come again.
“And will the owner of a white guitar controller please report to the bridges in the sky? Thank you. This has been Captain John Wilkes 'America' Booth, advising you to perish in fire. Booth out!”
Hmm.. there's something not quite right about this.
I guess I'm wanted on the bridge!

8:14 AM
The windows all cackle. Through each, I see myself sleeping in one of many bedrooms I’ve slept in throughout my life.
The ceiling’s a long tongue.
It's gonna be one of those days today. Yeah, okay.

8:20 AM
I turned a corner, and the hallway extends a long way forward, but the walls and floor and ceiling fade into a blue sky. The occasional tile of a floor or wall remains, floating in mid-air.
In the far distance, I see a floating bridge in the sky. Magnificent.
On the bridge, I can see a figure standing.
How do I get there?
ASJIF
FALLING
FALLING
I’M FALLING INTO INFINITY
THE PUN DOESN’T MAKE ME ANY LESS SCARED

8:23 AM
I landed on a cloud. I’m okay!
…WAIT
OH GOD
I FORGOT THESE WEREN’T CLOUDS, OH GOD
OH GOD IT’S HAIRY
WHY ARE THERE HEADCRABS THIS MAKES NO SENSE
THE SPIDERCLOUD IS CRAWLING WITH HALF-LIFE HEADCRABS.
Tiger Stripes, let’s
GET THE FUCK OFF MY HEAD
BAH good
Let’s run!

8:29 AM
Jumping off the edge of a gargantuan spider probably isn’t a good idea, but what the hell!
GERONIMOOOOOO

8:30 AM
I landed in a tree that was rather close to me.
My surroundings are all trees. All red, for that matter. I can hear distant roars of jungle animals. Even if they weren't alien, that still wouldn't be a great thing to hear.

8:35 AM
I climbed down the tree. I’m now in the middle of nowhere, no idea where I’m going from here.
I’m.. gonna try south. We’ll call this direction south.

8:40 AM
I hear the faint rustling of leaves.
..this is vaguely reminding me of something I once wrote.

8:41 AM
Okay, now it’s uncannily similar.
All sounds have now ceased entirely other than the faint rustling of leaves in one direction.
I can’t even hear my footsteps, and I can clearly see my feet hitting the ground. I can’t hear my writing into the journal. The rustling of leaves is not loud at all, so it’s not drowning the noise out.
No, what’s drowning the noise out is silence.

8:45 AM
I’ve been led east and south so far. The sound of the leaves changes direction every few acres or so.

8:47 AM
I can suddenly hear again. But I’m still smack-dab in the middle of the woods. Not sure if want.
Okay. I see manmade paths on the ground. “Manmade” may not be accurate, but oh well. They’re dirt. They lead both south and west. I’m gonna try south first. Nothing beats south.

8:50 AM
Except doors. There’s a locked door here, and it’s wedged between two large boulders, forming the edge of a hill, rock wall. Scenery.
I can’t go around. Turning back.

8:53 AM
Trying west now.

8:59 AM
There’s a floating key here.
..grabbing.

9:00 AM
As soon as I grabbed it, a door appeared out of thin air and slammed shut. The choice was either “grab key” or “go further this way,” I suppose. Going back to the locked door.

9:09 AM
The key works.
Soon as I walk through, the door slams shut, locked behind me.
All sound ceased again, except for the faint rustling of distant leaves. To the south.

9:14 AM
I walked for a little bit, then I blinked and I’m in a very rocky place. Green rocks.
I see pairs of very long black legs all around, stretching into the sky. I think they're legs? They're solid rectangular black poles, in pairs of two. My gut sees these and thinks "legs." I’m not sure what’s on top.
..that was a thud. It shook the ground.
That was another.
We got footsteps comin’ our way.
Oh goodie, that was a loud roar, hurting my ears, comes from all directions
hello I hear drums
Thud
thud
WOMP
Where is it?!

9:17 AM
Aaand I’m out. I’m now on a long sandy path. Regular sand, blue sky pulsing orange and purple, rocks of green, and lightning that spawns hamburgers on fine china. As odd as it is to say, it’s familiar ground. We saw this kind of landscape when we got here last night.
Continuing south.

9:20 AM
This is just a wasteland.
Lots of huge rocks nearby. Towering over me! The huge ones range from all colours of the rainbow, and even some I’ve never seen before. That one over there looks like a reddish green.

9:25 AM
I recognize this place, for sure. I see the cave we entered from over there. Doesn’t appear to be any way to get up there; it’s above-ground quite a bit.
I'm still southbound.

9:55 AM
Going ‘round some huge rocks here. The scale of everything here is gigantic. I imagine there are places on Earth that are as big as this? Untouched places, the majesty of nature.

10:03 AM
I see change on the horizon. I see the landscape becoming.. not so flat. It looks like a mountain range.

10:06 AM
Oh dear god, that’s twisted.
Literally.
The mountains.. well, none of them are shaped like typical mountains. Some are corkscrews, some are perfectly square, some are actually upside-down, and.. I see the tallest mountain. It’s hourglass shaped.
The Twisty Mountain Range, I guess we’ll call it. The Twisties.

10:14 AM
Separating the plains from the Twisties is a humongous cave. It’s not green, though; it’s grey. A rather.. monotonous grey.
I’m goin’ in. ..well, I’m heading towards it.
It's gonna. Take a bit of time to get there.
Sigh.

11:03 AM
Upon entry, my vision switched to 100% black-and-white. Greyscale!
I’ve still yet to actually encounter fauna, and thank heavens for that.

11:15 AM
The greyscale actually makes it easier to see where I’m going in the low visibility. There’s a very slight turn, and I can see what looks like an exit up ahead. Of course, I’m pretty sure it’s still a few miles away.

11:30 AM
I wasn't sure at first, but my vision's getting filled with static. I even had to double-check, I'm not wearing my helmet. There's no interference. Just... static. Like I'm looking through an old television set.

11:35 AM
what the
A highway just appeared in my vision.
A Guitar Hero highway.
Oh shit, notes!
...Tiger Stripes.
Does this work?

11:41 AM
It was Megadeth’s “Sudden Death,” Guitar Hero 6. I saw the notes, and I tried playing Tiger Stripes. Despite not being plugged into anything, it worked perfectly.
Every time I missed a note, the ground rumbled, so I tried not to let my crowd meter drop too far. I really didn’t want to find out what’d happen. Luckily, that wasn't that much of a worry. I spent a lot of time getting good at these games. ;D
I shredded, journal. I shredded for the first time in months. Many months. .w. Tiger Stripes, you have done well. I kiss you firmly on the neck!

11:46 AM
But why was it Guitar Hero...?

11:50 AM
Welcome to the Twisties, journal.
..oh god, Moonside not bawesome. o_e
Well, on the plus side, I can see colours again! All the better to see:
The ground, under my feet, is also up there above me, in the sky, a perfect mirror image. The mountains do not touch their mirrors though; there is a clear gap for the purple-pulsing sky to bleed through.
However, the tallest mountain, the hourglass, does not mirror. ..unless you count the top half of the hourglass. The point where the mountain reaches the very center, the thinnest part of the hourglass, is where reality mirrors. Maybe it was never an hourglass mountain at all.
I’m still on sand, but I see the ground is littered with green rocks. I have a sneaking suspicion as to what’s going on here.

12:06 PM
Yep, the ground is now fully green rocks.
In the distance, I see the long legs.
I'm really damn transfixed by these things?
Picture a typical nature painting. Now picture pairs of thick black lines extending from the ground to as high as you can see scattering the landscape. Now picture some of the legs slowly walking in different directions. Shuffling, step by step, into wherever.

12:24 PM
I’m going up a small mountain. It’s sorta spiral shaped. I’m kinda just heading south, towards the hourglass mountain.
Call it a hunch.

12:32 PM
Goin’ dow
whoa
up?
I’m upside-down, I just know it. I crossed over to the other end of the mountain, but as soon as I stepped to the downward slope on the other side, I felt reality.. warp. And now I’m walking upwards to the ground.

12:56 PM
Walking forward is hard when your hair is falling up.
The leg creatures have also warped. They are now above me, on the mirror. I still can't see any heads.

1:21 PM
I made it to the hourglass mountain. I begin my descent now.
..ascent.
Descent. I don’t know. Above/below.

2:00 PM
I can see all kinds of stuff from this height. This isn’t taking long to walk up, and yet I’m so high up already. I'm not far from the thinnest point, the midpoint of the hourglass.

2:24 PM
Donnie! :DDDD
"Jordan!"
hug
What are you doing up here? Did you wake up here?
"The sensible thing to do when lost in an alien landscape and separated from your party is to look for landmarks and wait there."
Have you seen anything like a way out, or a, I dunno, big grand temple saying "CIPHER HERE?"
"Nothing like that, no. It's been a lot of this general kind of environment. But I did find this stuck in a tree."
what
You just pulled a grappling hook out of your pants!
"I told you, it was in a tree! I've just been carrying it!"
Well! I'm sure it'll come in handy.
"I considered using it to swing around the trees and rocks. Okay, I mean I did use it to do that. I wanted to understand how to use it. But I can't—"
hold on! When I woke up, I was on a big boat, and a voice told me I had to go to the bridge. And there was a bridge, out in the sky, but I couldn't reach it.
"Okay! Sure! That's.. literally the kind of thing we need to know."
If we're gonna reach it before nightfall, we'll have to start walking now.

3:32 PM
Bottom of the mountain.
I hear what the hell is that noise. Sounds like a WOMP WOMP.
It’s dubstep. But where’s it coming from?

3:33 PM
"Swag..."
It’s the leg things. Now that the music is playing, their heads have appeared: they’re boomboxes, amps, speakers in general.
Just a box playing music, out the bottom of which extend two long black legs. They strut as they play.
"What do we call them?"
Legsteps.
Among the coolest creatures we've encountered yet.

4:02 PM
Up the
okay, down the mountain from before.
"It's almost easier with music playing, isn't it? Easier to get moving."

4:35 PM
Bottom of that mountain. Holy shit, this song kicks ass. I feel ready to dance my way back to
wait a minute what’s that spidercloud doing so close
OH GOD
IT’S DROPPING HEADCRABS
Of course. If the music intensifies, there’s gonna be battles. Should have expected that.
Thank fuck I have a rifle!

4:42 PM
Finished off that wave of headcrabs, but the worst possible thing has happened: I ran out of ammo. We ditched our storage box yesterday-- I think we just.. switched worlds at one point and it didn't come with us-- so we're not sure what to do with this empty gun. I tried using it to whack the headcrabs, but, uh, yeah I switched back to just using Tiger Stripes for that.
Donnie's holding onto the rifle for now.
I see another spidercloud coming this way. They won’t stop, so I guess we shouldn’t stop moving!

5:03 PM
Made it to the cave.

5:45 PM
The Legsteps have silenced their pumping.
The highway has entered my eyesight. Rock Band this time.
Tiger Stripes, let’s kick some fucking ass.

5:51 PM
Oh god, it was Dream Theater’s “Constant Motion” this time. That song’s tricky as fuck; I could practically feel the cave threatening to fall apart by the time the solo ended.
But of course, this is me we’re talking about here. Me and Tiger Stripes. We were made for this stuff.

6:20 PM
Out of the cave. God, we’re almost sorta there. o_e; This is taking forever, though.
"Wait."
?
"...why don't we just use the fucking grappling hook?"
...oh. Oh yeah.
"God, I'm a moron."

6:40 PM
The two of us, grappling from rock to rock... we’re halfway through the wasteland now.
I kissed her, yes. Because this is a lifesaver. She blushed. .w.

7:03 PM
Okay, we’re actually out of the wasteland. We must have bypassed at least a dozen waves of headcrabs.
Heading north through this path.

7:05 PM
We walked, we blinked, now we’re on the bridge in the sky.
Did we not even need the... whatever.
Immaculate white surfaces, almost blinding here in the middle of the air with that sun hitting us. The sky is a beautiful blue, and I can see someone standing at the edge of the bridge.
The sky’s rapidly turning a rich dark purple.
"The God Machine…"
That figure. Wearing a thick white cloak, long brown hair covering his head.
donnie and I are apprehensive. this is the only person we've seen in this bizarre world.
"Down there, can you see it?"
Uh.
silence
peering over the edge.
It looks like a... church? No roof, so I can see into it, looks more like an arena.
"Do you see the cross on the ground?"
Yeah…
"That, my child, is the God Machine. Guardian of the fifth Cipher. It must be reckoned with."
Wow…
So, uh, who are you?

7:08 PM
He turned and looked at me. He was Jesus Christ. His eyes were an empty gaze, staring at me, unblinking. His warm smile never faltered.
Then he reached an arm out to touch my shoulder, and I saw under his robe and recognized him by his insect body.
Donnie screamed at Cockroach Jesus, and then he pushed me off the bridge. Donnie dove after me, grabbed me tight, and grappled us onto the bridge to allow a safe rappel down to the jungle below.
When we were safe, I threw up a little bit. All that happened quick.
I, uh. I need a moment. That was almost death!

7:15 PM
We have a job to do. I know roughly where that church is, I know the direction anyway. We just have to get through the forest of silence.
The sky isn’t getting darker; it’s getting purpler. Which may or may not be a word.
But anyway. The path that continues north is shut by that door. But all is silent again, except for the faint rustling of leaves to the west.
Guess we just gotta follow the leaves!

7:19 PM
Donnie seems a little confused by the silence, but she’s following me. Good.
The sound continues this way.

7:22 PM
FFFFFFFFF
HEADCRABS
Oh, I see how it is. A spidercloud was above us this whole time, but I couldn’t hear it or anything. Relying on just my sight sucks.
DIE, HEADCRABS!

7:27 PM
Leaves north!
..headcrabs, too!

7:32 PM
Pause in the headcrabs, and the leaves are now east.

7:39 PM
Ah-ha, I see that spidercloud!

7:41 PM
..fuck. Door here, locked, needs a key.
Why do I get the feeling I know exactly where the key is?
That spidercloud looks about ready to drop a massload of headcrabs.
..Donnie’s giving me the hook. Why.
Go get the key, I’ll distract the crab things.
..that was her writing, by the way. In my journal. Communication.
But!
..yes, ma'am. :c

7:43 PM
Hooking through the jungle is surprisingly easy.

7:51 PM
KEY, THERE
SNAG
KEY GET
GOING

7:58 PM
Oh my god Jordan hurry hurry hurry

8:02 PM
DONNIE, oh god there’s a headcrab on your head
I GOT IT
I got it.
Okay, let’s open this goddamn door.

8:07 PM
Continued east. The leaves want us north now.

8:10 PM
West!

8:13 PM
North again.

8:15 PM
I can hear again! We made it.
But wait, fuck, where do we go from here?

8:16 PM
Donnie says the next spidercloud looks even bigger than the last. She predicts way more headcrabs than ever.
Fuck, so we have a time limit, too. Where the hell is the exit.

8:17 PM
…what if our time limit is our exit?
Donnie, hold on tight. This is a bit of an Indy Ploy, but here goes.

8:19 PM
OH GOD we made it
I grappled the spidercloud, but first it was too far, so I just grappled the tallest tree and then got the cloud. Now we’re on top of it.
On the downside, there are literal waves of headcrabs up here. They have formed a freaking ocean.
On the upside, I see the faux-Exodus in the distance coming our way. I need it closer. I need a clear shot.

8:20 PM
Oh god, here comes the first wave of headcrabs.
Deep breath, Jordan. There is no way this won’t knock you clear off the cloud.
…unless.

8:21 PM
Oh god, that was a risky idea but I can’t believe it worked.
I hooked the top of the wave and now Donnie and I are surfing.
fffff the headcrabs are toppling off the cloud
HOOK HOOK HOOK HOOK HOOK

8:23 PM
The ship is so close I can almost touch it
But not close enough yet
The headcrabs are getting restless, oh god
They’re forming a giant wave, a tidal headcrab wave.
…this might be the shot I needed. Donnie, grab on tight.

8:25 PM
RIDING THE TALLEST WAVE EVER.
WITH A GIRL CLINGING TO MY SIDE.
ON TOP OF A GIANT FLYING SPIDER.
THIS IS AWESOME.

8:26 PM
But this isn’t gonna last long; we’re almost to the edge of the cloud.
Leap of faith time.

8:27 PM
NAILED IT.
Oh, and apparently this ship is actually called the Eggs Opus. Because of course it is.
But here we are, we’re clinging to a window on the floating ship.
I’m gonna try to hook the deck of the ship, so we can at least be on top.

8:29 PM
We’re on top now. I’m making a lot of lucky shots, I guess.

8:30 PM
..what now, another challenge? Not even any music?
There seems to be a large shadow on the ground moving around. The shadow is morphing into different shapes.
And the Eggs Opus is slowly turning around, about to head towards the bridge in the sky.
So we have another game of survival. Except I’m not sure what this shadow does.

8:32 PM
..it’s now the shadow of a giant person. Standing still.
Little life-sized shadows of humans are rising out of the ground.
Just standing there.

8:34 PM
Many more of them now.
Donnie says they look almost like they’re deciding what move to make.
Personally, I think they look more like they’re waiting for us to.

8:37 PM
We’re about halfway to the bridge.
The shadows are still just standing there. There’s no more shadow on the ground.

8:39 PM
I’m stepping forward.
..and the shadows all multiply. o___o
A second shadow person just… climbed out of each one. Now they have all doubled.

8:40 PM
Donnie’s stepping forward too.
..the shadows all multiplied again.
I’m afraid to do anything else.

8:44 PM
The bridge is here. C’mon, Donnie. Grab me.
…fuck, she had to take some steps to. Now there are way more shadows.
HOOK, GET US OUT. Why am I scared. I DON’T KNOW, SHUT UP.

8:45 PM
We’re on the bridge, we’re on the bridge! We’re on the bridge. Okay.
…now what? We're back where we just were.
Cockroach Jesus is gone, though.
Good.
Let's just.. catch our breath.

8:46 PM
Okay.
After catching our breaths, we figured there's only really one choice from here. We didn't do it before because Cockroach Jesus forced our hands, but, there is an obvious cathedral-arena thing visible from here. And inside it is the Cipher.
There's still something weirding me out about it. There is a giant cross on the ground, that's what we're looking for I think, but it's.. writhing.
It's a creature.
It's sleeping.

8:49 PM
It was a simple grapple away.
The ground of this cathedral is a mix of purple, dark blue, and black, as are the walls. There’s the occasional Roman-y pillar.
The cross-thing is still sleeping.
This cathedral is absolutely enormous. It’s at least the size of ten football fields. And the cross-thing takes up at least half of it, in length, though it's also pretty thin.
I’m going to take a look around.

8:50 PM
FFFFFF
just bumped right into a Legstep. Didn’t see it there. Sorry.
…I can see an amp up there. I have a bad feeling about
whoa actually this is a pretty cool intro. No bass, just a sinister-sounding harmony.
Almost like it’s background music.
……
fuck.

8:51 PM
Yep. The thing’s waking up. ..eah. The writhing things on it are all hairs, tiny and big, all black. And it’s standing up. Like a colossus crucifix or something. No face, only movement.
Its arms are pointing down.
Two marble panels lay on the ground nearby. They both have inscriptions.
One says Deus Ex Machina, the other The Fifth Cipher.
This.. is a Cipher? O____O;;
Fuuuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Deus Ex Machina. Latin for “God out of the machine,” I think. Because of theatre, they had a machine, a pulley system to lower and raise god-characters on and off the stage.
It was the, uh.
The.
...the God Machine.
It's raising an arm, clearly telegraphing that it's about to

8:53 PM
Avoided it oh god
Wow, there’s a lot of Legsteps. Pumping one badass song.
I gotta admit, if ever my life got a video game and it had epic boss battles, dubstep would not have been my first choice for background music. But maybe it would now.

8:55 PM
This is easy so far. The God Machine’s just standing up and then slamming itself into the ground, trying to crush us. It’s slow.

8:57 PM
ffffffuck?
The Shadowclones have entered the cathedral! o_e The.. the ones that clone themselves!
Great, of course, gotta put on the pressure, gotta give us a fight.
Fucking boss fights.
Okay, God Machine. You’re about to find out why you should never fight me when badass music is playing.
..as am I.
Tiger Stripes, let’s use that strength of ours.

8:59 PM
Random idea. Running around the fucker.
Shadowclones following me, cloning themselves, manifesting towards me.

9:00 PM
The God Machine tried to crush me, got a face full of shadow.
…damn. o_o The shadow dudes are somehow pierced, pinned to the hairs on the Machine. They can’t move. They’re flailing about.
…shit, crush time again. Running.

9:01 PM
It got more Shadowclones. They’re starting to merge with each other.

9:03 PM
New discovery: They’re slowing it down.
Gotta keep running, though.

9:05 PM
Shit! The Machine has been hindered enough that now it’s not even trying to crush me. It looks dazed and confused. And the dubstep’s come to a quiet part. I take it this is a cue of sorts.
But for what, fuck fuck fuck.

9:06 PM
..what’s it doing
nonononono c’mon
It shook the Shadowclones off! They’re retreating into the ground. More are still heading my way, and in comes round two of the God Machine.

9:08 PM
It’s getting shadows on it and slowing down, but what do I do when it’s dazed?!

9:12 PM
Okay, it’s dazed. uh uh uh uh
…fuck! Donnie went up to it and whacked it with the empty rifle! She knocked it over! o_o
The music’s pumping up.

9:13 PM
We climbed on top of its exposed underbelly. Time to hit the weak point for massive damage.
SMASHSMASHSMASHSMASHSMASHSMASHSMASHSMASH
SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!
Jumping off now.
Machine’s flipping over, onto its.. 'stomach?'

9:15 PM
fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck
it’s speeding around the cathedral, hoo boy dive dive
dive

9:16 PM
The very top of it is opening up.
…it’s charging something up, energy speeding towards the white gap in its head.
WAIT MY SENSES ARE TINGLING
THAT’S A WEAK POINT TOO
GOTTA BE

9:17 PM
SMASHSMASHSMASHSMASHSMASHSMASH
DIVE TO THE SIDE
fwaaaaaaaaaaaah that’s a huge laser
It’s getting hurt.
…and now it’s getting up.
Back to square one!

9:20 PM
It’s trying to crush us twice as fast now and getting less Shadowclones per crush than before.
Mixing things up. I like that.
Actually no I don’t. Never liked boss battles themselves. Always just loved the atmosphere.

9:25 PM
dazed
smash
and down goes the goliath
massive damage time

9:26 PM
attacked with all we could. got off of it. now it's going to flip over and shoot around the room. rinse and repeat.

9:27 PM
divedivedivedive
divedivedive
WOMP WOMP
divedive

9:29 PM
laser
donnie's got it this time
just whacking the fucker again and again
Remember to dive!!!
fwaaaaaaaaaaaah
she's good

9:30 PM
The Legsteps are starting to play the song differently. This boss has a phase two, doesn’t it?
…the bastard can fly.

9:31 PM
The fancy pillars around us are all tilting towards the center of the room. …and opening up at the top. o_o
And shooting a light, a liquid light. It spirals out of each pillar and injects directly into its body.
…I hear a whirring sound. Gonna dive.

9:32 PM
SHIT, that was like some kind of sonic rainbow.. boom thing.
Fired directly for my face. I’m glad I can dodge.
And now the pillars fire back into it. Recharging.
…FFFFFFF it recharges fast.
"Okay, what can we do? What can we do?"
DIVE
We can try to.. fuck up the pillars!

9:35 PM
Why must they be so far away from each other?
OKAY WHACKING THIS ONE
…DIVE
Every time I whack, it changes the colour that it sends.
Let’s tryyyyy yellow!
kay kay kay running to next pillar oh god dive dive dive

9:36 PM
It’s fiiiring in raaapidfiiiire

9:37 PM
okay it’s back to normal firespeed

9:39 PM
Next pillar! whackwhack YELLOW
DIVEDIVEDIVEDIVEDIVEDIVE
Two down, two to go!

9:45 PM
WHACKWHACK
DIVE
WHACKWHACKWHACK
YELLOW
DIVEDIVEDIVEDIVEDIVEDIVEDIVE

9:47 PM
NOT STOPPING
STILL RAPID
OH GODDDD

9:49 PM
OH GOD

9:52 PM
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
DIVE
WHACK
YELLOW
…the whir is now a high-pitched whine. It’s pulsing a bright light my eyes
It’s gonna blow. o_o
COVERCOVERWHERE

9:54 PM
hiding behind a pillar
not the best of plans but still

9:55 PM
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
fucking blew the Legsteps right out of the cathedral
I’m okay. Oh god, I’m okay.
Hat’s on fire a little, but I’m okay.

9:56 PM
The God Machine is gone. Donnie's behind a pillar at the other side of the arena.
In the center are three floating figures.
One is Gas Masky. The Archangel? The man in the gas mask. Arms crossed in tight latex.
He is in between two black-suited... hatted... oh man, it's them. The men in black, the people we can't get a good look at. Are they the Musicians?
Death is lowering down to the ground
"Five down. Two left. I didn't even see that one go down."
"He did it while your attention was elsewhere." voice without a source. I think it's the musicians.
"The slimy bastard. He knows nothing about spectacle."
men in black looking at me
now death looking at me
"Then again, he is also impeccable at surprises. You there, boy. What are you cowering for? You destroyed Deus Ex Machina. That was a feat!"
Uh!!!
"Come out here, and stand by your accomplishment!"

9:57 PM
donnie's still hiding. it's just me walking out to these.. things.
"What's your name?"
I'm. hoo. breath.
I'm Jordan Dooling. And you are?
handshake, firm "The Grim Reaper."
Are you going to kill me?
"Kill you? Of course not!" leans in closer "You're entertainment." lets go of my hand "You're the X factor I've been hearing so much about. You're not meant to be here."
Is that.. okay?
"It's whatever you want it to be."
"There is another one hiding behind us."
"Oh?" gas masky turns around. they're all looking at donnie's pillar. "Two of you. That's getting less entertaining."
Please don't hurt her.
he looks at me "Her? Oh! A boy and a girl! Young love! A tight unit. I stand corrected; that is most entertaining. I can work with that. What's her name? Tell her she's safe to come out."
Uh!
Donnie! It's okay, Donnie!
...slowly, hesitantly, she peeks out and steps over to me, trying to look small
holding my hand

9:59 PM
We.. defeated the Cipher, right?
gas masky "Probably. I have no idea how it works, kid. The Rapture's new to me too."
Then what are you doing here? Right after it died…
disembodied voice "We were summoned. We and the Ecclesiarchway."
gas masky's frustrated "You didn't have to tell them my name!"
"What does it matter? They mean nothing to you."
"Does no one in this world understand anything about spectacle?"
So. You were summoned. All three of you.
"If one were to discern what must have been intended by the summoning force, one would suppose that we were summoned to dispose of you."
Shit.
"We have had our eyes on you for a while. This would be the perfect opportunity to do it. Grimaldi, stop it, we are going to do this a more patient way."
Uh?
ecclesiarch "No, I want these two alive. It looks like Rapture has a place for them, with big exciting fights! And as long as they don't get in the way, we could use something like this…"
Uhhh???
"So! It's decided. Don't kill them. Just send them on their way."
Yes! Yes, just send us on our way!
...where do we go from here
"Into your minds."

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(Attached: “But I thought Ten Speed was a guy. Goddammit, this is more misdirection, isn’t it? I always fall for that. -Priestess in the Street”)