caughtinanetwork | The Sun Rises!

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The Sun Rises!

[A strange, fuzzy image comes over the SFC. Some may recognize this hazy green glowing dot as Issun! But he's not entirely present, it seems - it looks more like a projected image. His voice is a little distant, but that little guy's got some lungs, so his words come through loud and clear.]

Long time no see, Vatheon. But we don't have time to chit-chat too much, so let's just get right to the point! That thing up there is called Yami, and other big baddies Ammy and I have knocked out call it the "Emperor of Darkness". It's bigger than any myths. Orochi's story was one thing, but this thing's a bit of a bigger scale - what's going on right now is a battle between light and darkness. Not between a god and a demon, but between the forces of nature as it is.

You're all putting up a great fight, but you're missing the crucial element here! You need the sun to come out! Chibi's there, last I heard, but he won't be able to do it, he's too young to fight Yami's darkness. It's Ammy! Ammy needs to snap out of it and get back in there.

But she can't do it alone. She needs the help of everyone here, in Vatheon. I'm sure a lot of you at least know the strange white wolf that roams your city and helps people out - that's the great goddess Amaterasu! In fact, I think it's important you guys see her for what she truly is. Here's the latest thing I whipped up, as her Celestial Envoy!

Like it? Heheh. I call it "Amaterasu Ascending to Heaven". ...Nah I gotta work on that title. Anyway that's not the point! The point is, Ammy needs your help, Vatheon. She needs you to believe in her, and pray for her. So put your hands together, bow your head, and sincerely pray for her strength and power. Pray, believe in her totally, and ask her to bring the sun back out! I think a lot of you are really disconnected from the gods, but believe me, if there's any god you should believe in, it's the one that's struggling and fighting to protect all of you right now. Search deep in yourselves, and speak from the heart. Heck, if you're not sure if your mind's in the right place, tell me what you're thinking of praying about! Oh, but be quick about it, Ammy's in trouble and she needs all the believers she can get!

Can you hear me, furball? Hang in there, you've got to get that big red orb in the sky shining again!

((OOC: Yes, it's fine to answer the SFC with your "prayers"! I encourage it! =D))

[[Meanwhile, on the Island...]]

Ammy HAD gotten back up, stumbling towards Yami's new form through the blinding darkness. As the prayers do start coming in, they light the darkness around Amaterasu, glowing like stars.

As the prayers solidified and moved into Amaterasu, their light accumulated gradually, the hosts for the Brush Gods feel the orbs remove themselves from their bodies, restoring them to their mortality. The powers remain with them, but they float and return back to Amaterasu, who with the orbs and the prayers building on her, is glowing brighter and brighter, until finally the light peaks and dissipates, revealing Amaterasu's realized self.

Power radiates off of Amaterasu, as she has been restored to her true self with prayer and faith. With a grand howl, the sun shines brilliantly through the clouds, shedding the darkness and revealing Yami.

Amaterasu stands defiantly against Yami, and the two primal forces begin to engage in an extremely destructive battle. But Amaterasu easily pushes Yami away from harming any of the other fighters, summoning trees and flinging him towards the center of the island. She nearly grows a new forest as she relocates the battle, and Yami retaliates by calling down a shower of meteors. With composure and confidence, every meteor is hit with Power Slash, all slamming into Yami, his own powers used against him. The emperor releases showers and showers of rockets, and summoned a hellish tornado. Amaterasu easily counters by striking the rockets and summoning her own wind to remove the strength of the tornado.

The battle becomes titantic, the island being shred to pieces and rebuilt in an instant, the landscape being smashed apart and restored, until finally something is crushed. It isn't clear what, exactly - but not long afterwards, Amaterasu deals a final blow on Yami, summoning the light of the sun yet again and exposing the core, crushing it with her might. Yami's form shudders, and a large crack in... what appears to be reality itself opens, which Yami escapes through. Amaterasu turns, gazing upon Vatheon for one final time... before pursuing him through the new gate, which closes immediately behind her.

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[A goddess. There had been another goddess here in Vatheon all this time... Zelda doesn't need to know Amaterasu personally to recognize the divinity that's been in action throughout the latter part of the fight with Yami. The efficacy was clear, but surely it would be better if the goddess herself could use that power. She folds her hands and lowers her head right where she stands and begins to pray for dawn to arrive.]

[It is easy, so easy, for the right prayers to come to Mitsuhide's lips.]

[Amaterasu is one of the greatest of the Gods within his religion; She is the Great Mother and protector of life, as well as the sun. He grew up offering prayers to Her, at both the family shrine of his household and, on occasion, the battlefield itself.]

[Within Vatheon itself he had begun to find doubt in the Gods, and so Mitsuhide had avoided Amaterasu, ashamed and fearful.]

[But he does not doubt right now. After his experience, after knowing the feeling of becoming a Brush God and gaining something no human would ever expect, he can only believe and pray that She bring the dawn.]

[Let Her brilliance reach all corners of the world and banish this darkness.]

[It seemed like a weird-ass time to get a message on his SFC, especially considering that Rin is still on the island, still fighting with everything he's got and the strange power that he didn't completely understand.

But he manages to find a relatively safe place to hide while listening to the message, staring at the speaker with a fairly surprised look.

So Ammy was a goddess. That's what he had felt, why he could sense she had power but she couldn't speak to her the same way he could speak to a demon animal.

And she was currently a goddess that needed to be prayed to if that power was going to come back full force. At least that much Rin understood.

He kind of twitched a bit, tail with it's flaming tuft swaying behind himself as he looked up from his SFC to the abomination that was still going even after everything the fighters had put in to trying to stop it.]

Figures. Prayer... old man, you must be laughin' your ass off at me, wherever you are...

[Of course praying to an actual goddess in a crisis and praying in church are very different things, but Rin figures at this point he doesn't have much of a choice. He can feel the orb leaving him already, signaling that his part in fighting this thing is over.

It's Ammy's turn.

He re-sheaths his sword and douses his flames at the white glow leaves him, returning his clothing to the same battered state they'd been in before he'd been gifted the power.]

... I really hope this works...

[He puts his hands together and, after a moment of uncertain hesitation, he starts to pray. Not like he did in church when he was tiny and Shirou could still force him to attend, but in a different manner all together. He just starts saying whatever comes to mind, asking - no, pleading for the sun to rise, for Ammy to have the strength to beat that damn thing and to protect everyone he cares about in Vatheon.]

Just believe with all of your heart! I'm sure she's befriended you, think of how much she means to ya! Say everything you wanna say: she'll hear it, trust me!

[Issun, ever helpful! Even if he sounds a bit like he's starting to fade off, himself.]

[Right. Seemed easy enough.

Except that he had been doubting everything about himself lately, and that didn't exactly bode well to believing in much else. Even getting part of Ammy's power... he had wondered in some of the calmer moments if that little orb had made the right choice.

A demon with a god's powers? It seemed contradictory, didn't it?

A demon praying for a god... even more so...]

[Issun can practically hear all the (unsure) coming from you, Rin!]

Don't believe me, kid? Don't waste time wondering and doubting! Ammy and I share this motto: leap before you look!!

Go for it, give everything you've got and more!

[... Ryu responds to the post, because he is the most unsureface. He sounds exhausted - he spent too much energy in Kaiser form and it didn't even work.]

I don't know how. Endless don't exactly... pray...

[They're the ones who get prayed to...]

I don't know what "Endless" means, and I ain't got time for you to explain it, so don't even worry about that! Right now, Ammy needs people to believe in her, no matter who or what. That sun's gotta come out, and she's the one who's got that power!

Leap before you look! Don't waste time sitting and anticipating, you'll get all hesitant and lose your resolve!

[Prayer, huh? Prayer would get rid of whatever it was that everyone else was fighting? Well, Charlie didn't exactly have any skills to fight something, he'd been pretty useless, actually. But, if this would be helpful than he was all for it.

Even if the thought of gods besides God was still a new thing for him.

He put his crossed himself like he was used to doing--hey, no harm, right?-- and prayed to this Amaterasu he'd yet to meet himself. If anyone in this place could do this, it was her. A goddess was a goddess, no matter what.]

[Leap before you look, huh? Sounds like what Rin does all the damn time. So why is he so scared to do just that all of a sudden? Is believing in something else really that frightening?

Yeah... probably. Especially seeing as he has hardly been able to trust himself lately.

But... something of Ammy trusted him. He was given the power to restore, to bring things back to the way they were, to stop destruction when for the past year and so much of his life before that was nothing but destroying things.

It's a bit silly, but in that moment he recalled the meal he had shared with Ammy in his kitchen, before Vanitas, before Shing and Kohaku died, before his rampage and before Alister's slow decent in to insanity. When he had started talking about being a demon, she had put a paw on his face as if to say "you're not bad, but don't do anything bad, okay?"

Hell, she had even trusted him back then!

So why...

No. He couldn't give up on her. He couldn't give up on everyone there. He couldn't give up on himself. It was the same shit everyone else had been telling him for weeks, only this time the fate of the whole damn city was dependent on it.]

... come on... Ammy... you ain't gonna lose to this bastard, right? You gotta bring the sun back... I know you can do it! I know you can!

[he's been fighting Yami almost nonstop, and yet... he smiles to hear this message.]

... Heh. I always thought she was somethin' special.

[The way she carried herself, the life she had given to his garden, and just that general feeling... He feels kind of silly for not picking up on it earlier.]

If she can really do it... then I believe in her! A hundred and ten percent!

Ah ha! I knew there was something special about you! I was right! Ha ha!

NO! We're all going to die! There's no hope for any of us!

[Well, if it isn't the bug. Kurow is exhausted and worn out from the fight, so he doesn't have anything clever to offer. But he does have the energy to do as Issun advises, and turns off the SFC without a word to do so.

He lowers his head, heart pounding so rapidly that it's deafening. He feels like a heretic to do this after his previous actions, but . . .

The sun signifies light. The life of everything. He's learned that much. Amaterasu is mother of all, and he'd be a fool to deny that, especially after the chaos this battle drowned in darkness has wrought.]

In total darkness, you can't see anything. It's so dark that you think there's something ahead when there isn't. You keep going deeper until there's no way back out.

By the time you realize that, it's too late. You're all alone, and you're fighting against people who might have been your friends, because you think you can never have what they have.

I just . . . wanted to be free.

[Kurow exhales deeply, then looks up. To where the sun should be.]

Your kid wanted me to find a way out. He gave me a chance I was too much of a coward to take before, because I'm not my own person.

But you said that doesn't matter. I'm still myself . . . and I can be myself. Not just a doll like that native thought.

[He bows his head, procuring the amulet he's had with him since the beginning and holding it against himself.]

How am I supposed to do that when the sun's gone? There's no light.

Hey, you're listening, aren't you? I'm a coward. I'm a coward who can't do this by himself. So help me, won't you . . .?

I don't want to be alone anymore.

[He doesn't want to have an estranged relationship with his best friend anymore. He doesn't want to pretend anymore. He doesn't want to fool himself into thinking Vatheon is his salvation anymore. He doesn't want to fake anymore.

Just let him make his one selfish wish.]

Bring back the sun, Amaterasu!

[He believes.]

Is that all praying is? Believing in someone?

[He smiles a little bit, despite his confusion.]

I never said I didn't believe in her.

Then take those thoughts and feelings and pray to her! Tell her in a prayer, with your heart. She'll hear it, just let her know!

[Ammy being a god wasn't news to Rinoa; she had sort of figured as such, with having discovered Chibi was one. No, what really floors hers is little Issun who appears, because she recognizes him. Sort of. Ammy had drawn him once and printed his name for her.]

Amaterasu's little friend... Issun. You came to help.

[As for his request, Rinoa seems a little unsure at first. She's never prayed in her life. Religion wasn't a big thing back home, and it certainly hadn't been a part of her life. By the time she would have been old enough to embrace it, her father's bitterness over her mother's death would have kept her away from such things.]

Praying is... just believing, right?

[Issun laughs a bit.]

Don't you worry your pretty little head! Praying is taking that belief and faith and expressing it with words. Words right from your heart! It's not hard at all, just put your hands together and with feeling, ask Amaterasu to bring the sun back out!

[Faith... and belief. Yeah, she has those. She believes! Amaterasu was a god, after all. And with everyone praying and on her side, there's no way she could lose. Not in Rinoa's eyes.]

Okay! I'll give it my best shot.

[Eyes closed and head bent, Rinoa clasps her hands and she begins to pray.

Come out, sun. Amaterasu can bring it out, I know she can!

So stand up, girl! Stand up and bring out the sun and send that creepy thing back from whatever hole it crawled out of!

I... believe in you. From the bottom of my heart. We all do! We wouldn't have fought for days if we didn't think we could prevail, that you couldn't prevail. So please. For all of us.]

[While Chidori knows she shouldn't, there's still the part of her that longs to live. And having met Amaterasu herself earlier, it seems a perfect excuse to pray for the dog-tired goddess.

Just a little.

... But she can't think of anything to pray for - at least not things she's supposed to pray for. It'd be wrong to want Ammy to fail, to stay hurt and for humanity to be wiped out as they're going to be anyway. But it's not right for her, someone who knows her date of death and isn't supposed to fear this sort of end, to pray that they survive because she's scared. So, hesitantly, she asks Issun.]

Why should we bother, if we're going to die anyway? [It's obvious she isn't completely sure despite her indifferent attitude.]

[Many in Vatheon might be cut off from the gods, or straight-out atheistic, but Gamzee is not amongst these. Faith is one of the most central things in his entire being. His faith has always been there for him, and despite being the only ~~gay eskimo~~ decent clown-worshipper, it hasn't wavered one bit. If anything it has gotten stronger. If he's the last and only, that means he has to pray just that bit harder to the Messiahs to make sure he and all his buddies will be going to the Shangri-la later. Not that he worries too much on that. His friends, faithless heathens that they might be, are all good people. And if he can see that, surely the Gods, the Ones that are so much Greater than him can also see that, right in their pumps and brainmeats.

So when the call goes out for prayer, Gamzee heeds. He saw his own best friend transformed into a god only hours early. He really doesn't need to question if it is true or not, because fuck, he's already laid eye on all that spirituality in the air. Battle-tired, he brings his hands together, closing his eyes and saying his prayers. He prays for Amaterasu's strength and power, but not only that, he adds his own spin to the whole thing too. Once the first prayer finishes, he adds one to his own Messiahs, asking them to give Amaterasu their guidance, their powers, their understanding. And he prays for Karkat too. Cause once you up globes deep in all that faith that floats in your nug, you might as well go the whole fuckin' way.]

Yeesh, I never thought a girl as pretty as you'd be so gloomy about things! You haven't met Ammy yet, have you?

That's the best thing about the goddess Amaterasu - that happy-go-lucky spirit!

[It's like a bug-sized Junpei. How annoying.]

If we're not killed by that thing, then we will by something else. We're just putting it off. Even a goddess can't stop that.

[... Her words still don't match her feelings though. Chidori just keeps thinking of Chibi, too. That pup shouldn't go without a mother. She wants to live, wants Amaterasu to live, but these are facts.]

She can! She's the mother of creation, as long as her light shines down on the world, she'll protect everyone. And that's not just empty boasting - I've traveled with her, and Ammy's got the resolve needed to save the world!

But if no one believes in her, she won't have the strength to do it. She works so hard, and the least we can do is believe in her!

Then, what do you suggest we pray for? The sun shines every day, even if it doesn't feel like it lately.

[Chidori's already getting her hands pressed together despite what she says, the thoughts on the tip of her tongue. Don't die. There are people who need you. Some of us don't have a future at all, but you do.

This girl's going to die no matter what happens, but there is someone she'd like to protect. Even if it's the smallest of longings, it's one of the strongest.]

The sun shines because of Ammy! We need the sun to cut through the dark shroud. Pray for that - Ammy will repay you for sure!

... Alright, fine. It won't do much in the long run, but I'm getting tired of you.

[And she'll pray for as long as it takes. Ammy must survive, if the future truly isn't hopeless or an illusion. If she can, then... perhaps it wouldn't be so painful, wanting to live when she can't. Maybe.]

So that's why I couldn't do that much, eh?

... Never mind the fact that the god of light is a dog, but why the crap is darkness incarnate a giant slot machine?

Hey, hey, come on! Ammy's friendly, but she's still a god. And a wolf. I know because she slobbered all over me and that is distinctly wolf slobber! And it's the goddess of the sun, not just light.

And I don't know, it's some strange mechanical doohickey - it's probably using machines since Ammy's got a real affinity for nature.

... Huh.

It's an odd thing, really. But that thing was getting torn the hell up by Yuri alone. If the dog's the source of those powers, it really doesn't stand a chance...

[Perrin's world may not have a pantheon the way others do, but the battle between Light and Shadow is very familiar, and one he knows plays out across many other worlds. For the Light in one world to have manifested as a wolf goddess, when in his world wolves are wrongly thought to be with the Shadow... it's somehow very satisfying.

He doesn't really have a formal concept of prayer, but he knows how to believe. He believes Rand will defeat the Dark One. He can believe Amaterasu will defeat this shadow, too. He hasn't been much use in this fight, but he'll do what he can now and put his thoughts behind her.]

[Serph's concept of God (gods?) is very hazy. Does he believe in gods? Perhaps, perhaps. It's hard not to believe, when some of that great benevolence flows within him.

Prayer. That's the name of Sera's song, the one that could not reach the heavens because it lacked something...

But the prayers of Vatheon's residents will reach it, he knows it.

Serph might not fully understand God or gods, but he definitely believes in is his friend, the Great Sun Dog, who bloomed some of the flowers in the Tribe's garden and totally drooled all over the floor when he talked to her. Seeing no reason not to, he puts his hands together, bows his head and believes, even as the Brush God leaves him. The power is gone from him, back to where it belongs.]

They're holding the Brush Gods' powers, actually. All of the Brush Gods have their own technique, and Ammy's the one who "created" them, in myth. They address her as "Origin of all that is Good and Mother to us all" every time we see them, after all. They're always willing to give their gifts to Ammy.

I'm pretty impressed that they were asking some a' you guys to help out!

[Karkat's response comes between the posting of the message and the time when the orbs dislodge themselves, meaning he's still colored in the white and red of divinity as he replies. It doesn't stop him from looking vaguely skeptical (though a lot less than he might normally), nor does it alleviate the battle weariness that hangs about him like a cloak.]

First I get turned into a god; now you expect me to actually pray? I know Ammy's a god, she told me before, but inculcation into bizarre dog-god faith is not the way I expected this invasion to go.

[Pause.]

... Is that really what she looks like?

[She needs to pray for her? That's easy. She may not have met Amaterasu before, but after all her time praying in her own world, she almost instantly thinks of something.

So she sits there and prays for the sun to rise again. For light to defeat the darkness. For her friends to be safe.]

[Believe in the Light to defeat the Shadow? Even though he's not sure why the wolf/dog is a god, he believes in her. Burn him, the Light will defeat the Shadow if he has anything to say about it. Even if this Shadow isn't the Dark One and Amaterasu isn't Rand, the Light will succeed.

He believes. He'll dance with Jak o' the Shadows however long he needs to, no matter where he is. He starts to hum the song, quietly.]

[He'll let that comment about the faith in gods being bizarre go. FOR NOW.]

Sure is! Ammy's divine glory isn't always so easy to see with that happy-go-lucky, admittedly a little stupid look on her face. For all that dopiness and wolf slobber, she's quite a god! As her Celestial Envoy, I guess I oughta give you a better perspective on her!

Ammy's fought great evils for as long as I've known her and definitely way before that! Evils that threatened the world couldn't stand a chance against her persistence and heroism! She's got the guts and the resolve to leap before she thinks, and to do what's right even in the face of doubt.

For all her horsing around, she's actually pretty darn good at bringing out the harmony of nature! She's always cleaning out demons in the cities and the forests, and she's always sure that people are in good harmony with the world around them. That way, everyone lives safe and happy, in an era of peace!

And when she's not seriously kicking butts, she's helping people out. Sometimes she's doin' it for fun, but she's always sincere about it. I bet you've seen it yourself at some point, Ammy just can't help but be there for people in need, even if she knows them or not.

Get the picture?

[Grell stares at the screen. She had heard of the battle... Had seen the eclipse. She had originally wanted to go up to see, but found herself staying back. Why she had, she didn't know. Perhaps something told her that rather than being needed for the battle, she would do better as... "support"? She still was not sure.

But as she listened to the message, gazed at the picture, something inside her panged. And hard.]

Prayer huh? I'm not much of a woman of faith, love. Even for what my job is, I haven't had much thought of it left or right.

But prayer for her? Faith in her?

[Grell finds a soft smile on her lips.]

I've seen this wolf around... I've seen her colors and her beautiful coat... This place would be far less friendly without her around... She really is quite the wolf, this "Ammy" of yours.

[Karkat, to his credit, does at least listen to what Issun has to say. Becoming religious is not something he really plans on, for all he may be a god himself right now - but not all of this is news to him. He's known Ammy long enough that he's heard and seen some of the good she does, and she was after all first to leap into the fight against Yami, even if she was struck down.]

Yeah, yeah, I get it. But understand that these are rare fucking circumstances for me, you got it? I don't just pray to anyone - as in, I don't pray at all under normal circumstances.

But that huge ass orb thing needs to be given the boot, and whether the boot is worn by hoof or canine paw, I don't give a shit so long as the result is the same.

[Pause.]

So how the heck do I pray?

You gotta believe! For a cynical or "realist" it might be a little harder, but if you know Ammy, then you're probably already friends.

[That's just how Ammy works.]

So think about how much you're worried about her. Wish for her strength and success, and ask her for your help! And believe, without doubt, that your words will reach her.

Just put your hands together and pray. Tell her what you feel, and pray for her. She's a little air-headed, so make sure you really mean it!

[Karkat grumbles a bit. They are friends, even is his own grumpy view.]

I'll give it a shot, alright? These are extenuating circumstances, weirder than a lot of crap I've been through, so I suppose I can suspend my disbelief given what else has blasted through it like a runaway freight train. Give me a second.

[There's a bit of shuffling as he finds a good spot to set his SFC, then gets into proper position for praying. Hands together, thoughts to Amaterasu--]

[Actually, wait a sec. He grabs the communicator again, and slaps on a filter. Ammy can hear him, fine, okay, but he doesn't want anyone else peeping in on his rare moment of spirituality.]

[With that done, he puts it back, and resumes position.]

Ammy! I still have next to no clue what I'm doing with this, but apparently you can hear me because of weird dog god powers, which is easier to buy than it might have been. I saw a fucking cat god in my sponge or something, I am a god now because of it, I have a friend who's part-dog because of convoluted shenanigans in how she reached god tier in this game, and her lusus was some kind of freaky barkbeast made omnipotent by being a First Guardian. This is the best belief I can give you without converting to face-painting, church-going piety, so be honored, alright?

[Not that he needs face paint with the markings he has presently.]

You're weird and kind of dumb, but the thing is, you're my friend, and--don't you tell this to anyone, and you, Celestial Envoy dude, you shut your miniscule face about it too--I'm kind of a sap when my friends get hurt. That shitty orb thing struck you right down, so I had to jump in. For my other friends, too, but you're the one I saw leap in first when that thing attacked.

But if you're a god, then you have to be strong. We've sparred before. You've told me some of what you've done back in your world. So you get back on four furry feet of yours, you face that thing, and you fight it. Everyone one of us here has fought hard to weaken that thing so far, and even gods have helped us, but we can't beat the fucker without you.

And I'm a troll, okay? Even if I'm all white and red right now, however long that's going to last, I'm still a troll. Trolls are nocturnal by nature, and my wriggling day - think birthday - is in one of our planet's dark seasons. For me to actively pray to a god to bring the sun back into the sky is all but unthinkable, but it's what I'm doing now, because it's what we need. And--I'd be real torn up if this thing was the end of you.

This place might not be our original home, but it's home to us now. You've got a bunch of people hoping and praying for your sake, including someone like me. So you get back in there, you fight that thing, you make the sun rise, and you win!

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The Sun Rises!

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(hearts, sorry this is so late ^_^;;;)

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