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Carna     The Conductor, whatever freakish powers he has over trains and their trappings, does not appear to have any special ability to protect against bullets. As Leyanne shoots out all the windows of the various booths they pass on this loop, the Conductor is forced to abandon his position, running from one location to another, flipping switches as he goes, trying to stay ahead of the hail of rounds destroying his base of operations.

    The tracks laid to enable a train to hit Staren also prevented any trains from hitting the tower. Instead it appears to have collided with another train, sending both burning hulks toppling down in ruins to the destroyed city below.

    Given the control he has over the tracks, that he would have put them down in such a way to bring the team opposing him closer, into easy firing range as they now are, and subject himself to this deadly hail, might be worrying. Why make it easier for enemies to attack him?

    Staren's attempt to prod at the system in his mind results in a distinctive electronic pinging noise, and a display superimposing itself over his conciousness.

    Log-In Attempt Detected. User Name and Password?

    Well, he knows the name he got to use last time, but... It didn't ask for a password then, did it? What's this Solaren guy's password!?

    As Kord's shadow blasts shoot into the exposed booths from Leyanne's barrage, things scatter and burst out in a wave of dark power, more wreckage, more internal damage to the structure itself, fewer places for the Conductor to hide. Then something sleek and silver and futuristic-looking comes arcing its way up over the top of the tower. It is glowing from in-built panels, seems to have some kind of repulsors or something on its underside, and... Yes. Yes, it's a flying train.

    And it seems to be ignoring the placement of the tracks in order to zero in on the predictable loop of the good guys' current course. Apparently having a stable circle to bombard the tower with isn't entirely to their benefit. It also means that until they derail, they are stuck on a single path. Though with Kord's shadow manifestation, maybe he can make new tracks for them like he did the other train before.

    But how long can such a chase last? Trying to redirect the train to dodge a flying one against someone who can continue to send other trains and lay new tracks of his own and is really experienced at doing so? The tower is in flames in many places now.

    Will they be able to do enough damage to stop all this befoe they are outmaneuvered, one way or another? Can Staren access the Lumiere system and try to alter the situation through hacking the world? The pressure is on for all involved parties, and there is a time limit before all available space is part of the Conductor's web.
Count Kord     Okay, now the Conductor is cheating, therefor Kord will not play his game. The shadow manipulator plus edgy anti-hero redirects his train so that he doesn't end up in a devastating vehicular disaster. He then directs the train about in a tight loop, trying to get it around the tower on shadowy rails. And he'd use the controls to slow the vehicle to a pretty abrupt stop without a lot of warning, but because of how the trains work that won't be an issue. At a full stop, the train will open its doors, and then he'd leave the controls.

    Kord launches himself out of the train with a leap, his wings manifesting immediately. He wheels about in the air in a tight loop to turn around and make a swooping, elemental strike with his scythe, a great blast of wind accompanying it, cutting force slamming into the control tower. He doesn't try to sit around and get hit by a train after that, because he'd rather not.
Staren     Damn. If Solaren is at all competent, the password will be unguessable. Another dead-end...

    And now the Conductor's got some kinda crazy future train. Staren flies to intercept it, watching for other trains. His plan is to try to 'board' it (by clinging to the outside with magnetic boots) and locate and destroy the engine with his beam cannons, in hopes of disabling it.

    Of course, he expects to have to keep an eye out for other trains and for the flying train to try and scrape him off against terrain. He's avoided direct damage so far, but... he's not sure how many times he can mess up before even this body is smashed to pieces.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace yelps and wraps her tail around one of the grab-rails as the trail hammers to a halt. "Kord you cockwomble!" She shouts "I fly like a fucking brick, especially strapped up with this cannon! Someone catch me if you need my firepower." She looks around, running an inventory on her heads up display. Oh, good, she did remember the right backpack unit. "I've got a chute!"
S
he hooks the bushmaster up into storage mode and then leaps from the stationary train, pulling a ripcord that deploys a small drogue chute from her pack. It's a handy, very bright yellow flare to track the now-plummeting mouse. "Woooooooooo!"
Finna     The train's going utterly crazy! Finna knows a problem when her gut tells her of them. So she dives out a window and grows enormous hummingbird wings from her back. They thrum up to speed in no time and send her SAILING after the train.. and towards the Conductor!
Tomoe Tomoe is in the train still uysing her spells to take pot shots when shes'; got the chance at anything that looks to be vital. Hopefully this will help for the moment. She sees staren bail out and it may be indeed time to bail out as well, still for now she's going. Then Leyann jumps out and Tomoe is heading for the door to leap out after her, her wings flare out with the strange runes and she makes a dive for one of the few people she knows of taller than /she/ is. She's picks up speed and should be able to get to Tiny in time...
Carna     Tomoe gets to Leyanne easily, but neither is contributing to taking down the enemy in the process. Staren falls into the trap of fighting adds when the boss is at critical HP. His efforts to board the train are fruitless. It's moving REALLY FAST and doesn't open its doors while it's in motion, because that's a basic safety precaution that only a fool wouldn't install. Trying to land on it might break his legs. Thankfully, it still seems susceptible to beam cannons from the outside if he cares to just shoot at it, though the control tower would logically be even more susceptible, since it's completely stationary, but that's an opportunity lost, it appears.

    Even just on his own, the overwhelming assault provided by Kord by himself is sufficient to deal the final blow.

    As the control tower falls, glass shattering, support beams collapsing, floors tipping and sending desks and filing cabinets and control panels and various less identifiable electronics tumbling out into empty space, Finna seems to be flying directly into the wall of destruction falling out towards her.

    The speakers that cover the tower transmitting the Conductor's mad laughter even as they fall to their eventual smashed-on-the-pavement demise below, the empty black sky flickers and sparks. Buildings topple into each other and on top of the trains running alongside or through them. The sound of wheels turning, of engines burning fuel, of screeching brakes, fills the air as trains all over collide with each other. Tracks fall out of their mid-air positions, dumping one steam engine onto another. Bullet trains ram each other 'face first', accordioning into masses of exploding, burning steel, that ruptures outwards in deadly hails of shrapnel and flame.

    A horrific, deafening scene of destruction and madness coming to its final deadly conclusion.

    The Conductor continues to laugh as his tower falls, even though he is nowhere in sight.

    Only when everything has finally fallen, the entire destroyed city TRULY destroyed and turned into a pile of burning rubble, does the fading laughter end as well.

    Recorded media for this location is available. Enter Play-Back Mode?

    The Lumiere System now seems to be cooperating without requiring a log-in. Perhaps this is something that is accessible to anyone who can contact the system, then. Probably not confidential information, but... It might still be useful.

    Either way, the destroyed cityscape is dissolving into shadows and smoke, retreating into the distance, and leaving them all standing in the subway tunnels again, the Umberdark Tunnels that encircle Final Destination. It's likely that these tunnels, and Lumiere itself, will never NOT be haunted. But at least one particular ghost is finally gone.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace is helped to a safe landing by Tomoe, although by the time they touch down they're back in the tunnels. She unstows her cannon anyway to be sure, looking around warily. "Is it over?" She asks, nodding her thanks to Tomoe. Then Staren mentions a video. She nods. "Roll it." She lets it play on her HUD. "Kinda pissed I didn't get a last shot or two at the dude."
Staren     Suddenly, everything collapses as Staren chases after the one train Kord can't use tracks to divert. Staren looks around, and has to check his armor's cameras to see what happened. Wait, so... the power was with the tower, not the conductor and his booths?

    Staren continues to hover over the destroyed city on thrusters. He's not sure he trusts down there to be safe. he didn't SEE the conductor die, after all.

    And then it all fades away anyway, and they're back in the tunnels. What. What the hell. Was the whole large open space created by the conductor's ability? Has time been rewound? Who even knows, in Lumiere... in any case, getting out of here is probably a good idea.

    <"Hey guys? The computer system's got some kind of video... I'm gonna check it."> He confirms playback, and retransmits the video to anyone who can receive it.
Tomoe Tomoe now has Leyanne ssafely hald but it's leaning her unable to do anything to help with bringing na ened to this.

"You got any ideas I can't fight doing this Leyanne!"
Tomoe notes she ahs no issues haniung on and carrying her, her flying is a bit strained but she should be able to manage thing for the moment at the very least. She's anow looking for a place she might be able to set Tiny down where she can help with taking things down.

It does not seem to need much longer though as things come to an end the Conductor falls wioth his towere ort so she thinks. The entire place goes down and sshe finds herself now safe with the other and she'll let Tiny go looking to her.

"For now, Tiny. Just for now I'm afraid. Is everyone else all right? Sounds like a plan Staren."
Finna     It's a rough flight down, what with all of the tumbling debris and falling shards of ruined tower! Finna yelps and throws her arms up and tries to zig and zag out of the path as all of hell breaks loose!!--

    ... and nearly plows straight into a wall down in the subway tunnels, as reality turns out to be PRETTY WEIRD DOWN HERE.

    She tumbles over and slams to a halt on her belly, hummingbird wings flapping fruitlessly at the air!

    "... I /hate/ this place." She announces, muffled by the ground.
Count Kord     Kord tries to position himself so that he can come in for a landing once the great structure begins to collapse. He spreads those ethereal wings, and holds his scythe out at his side with one hand, ready to touch down on one foot. He is strangely content with the shift in reality as they end up back in the normal bounds of Lumiere, in the subway tunnels. He looks around with idle interest, and then accounts for the presence of his allies during this little jaunt with a brief and slow blink of curiosity.

    He walks up to Finna, reaches out to grasp her by the shoulder, and tries to lift her up to her feet in an unceremonious fashion. "I had thought you to be the graceful one," he mentions, disapprovingly, and then he would turn to find the nearest train for his departure. He would only wait for so long for the others before he leaves on the train, because he has no intention to sit around in one place in the dark when he knows fully well what lurks in the shadows in Lumiere.
Carna     It's a video image that appears, seemingly from the point of view of the one recording it, though it doesn't appear to be through a camera. More like... From their eyes or something? They're standing at the platform in Umberdark Tunnels. Possibly the one where the Shrine of Light stands in the present, though there's no sign of it right now. There's lots of lively-looking people everywhere, noise of speech, laughter, and so on.

    When some kids disembark a train that has just arrived, they look lost and confused, but also wary and sharp. They don't know this place, but they're suspicious, on-guard. The one recording this walks over to them. Something about his voice sounds... Semi-familiar. And the sight of the two children is probably going to be familiar to some degree to Tomoe at the very least. She met them during Lumiere's first Halloween.

    A boy with dark skin and light hair, his jaw strapped with bandages from some injury. A girl with the same combination of colors, with a bandage over one eye.

    "Welcome to Platform 1031. Do you two need any assistance?" the man asks.

    The boy tries to move the girl behind him protectively with one arm. "No thanks. We're good." He has a cold, world-weary look in his eyes. A child who has seen more than most adults. The girl too, though she seems a bit less able to hide her fear and uncertainty.

    "Well, if you change your mind, I work here and can help direct you where you want to go." He is much taller than the two kids from the way he is looking down to them, and seems to be keeping his distance as a result of their caution, so as not to loom over them. When they don't reply, he introduces himself. "My name is Lewell. Technically, it's L-I-W-L, but that's an odd Death Name so I submitted to change it."

    The girl looks curious. "You can change the name they gave you?"

    "Yes! It requires some paperwork and such though. It's usually best to change it after you've had your 'new name' for awhile. Let's you get used to things before changing your whole identity. Names matter in Lumiere, you know." he cautions chipperly.
Carna     The boy still seems suspicious, but asks, "So we're really dead then?"

    The man tilts his view, so must be tilting his head too. "Yes, unfortunately. However, it's only temporary. Eventually you can return to the world of the living and start over as someone else. But until then, you can relax, get yourself set up with a home, and work out all the things you dealt with in life. Or forget about them entirely and find something new to do!"

    He leans in and says conspiratorily, over all the noise. "Hub City 7 here in Lostrata tends to be popular with kids, I hear. They've started calling it 'the Arcade'. Lots of games, swimming pools, and so on. There's a girl there named Karan who manages her own children's library she's been assembling. If you need directions, just let me know!"

    The boy looks Lewell over again as if seeing him for the first time, as the girl with him seems a little bit less cautious. "You said your name was Lewell?"

    "Yep!"

    "Nice to meet you. We can't remember what our old names were but... I guess my name now is Raziel. And hers is Lacey. Where should we go first to get a home? And something to eat?"

    The man laughs a little. It's an odd laugh. A sort of cackle very reminiscent of the Conductor's. He turns to the booth he was standing next to and pulls out a map. Then he turns back to the two kids and holds it open to show them where to go.

    The recording ends.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace watches the recording, a little sad. "So... was that... the dude we just fought? Or... something that... what was he?" Leyanne asks, her tail swishing behind her.
Finna     "usualllyyyyyyyy...." Finna offers, embarassedly to Kord as she's hoisted up off the ground! She dusts herself off, exhales... and the hummingbird wings retract.

    As soon as she gets an eye on Staren, Finna skips her way over to him! Quite gracefully thank you very much Kord!

    That...was a very creepy recording. Finna feels her stomach churn a bit at seeing a glimpse of Lumiere when it was maybe.. functional?

    "... I don't get this waiting for reincarnation thing, come to think of it..."
Staren     "...I don't either." Staren looks to Finna. "It seems like it's basically suicide, to decide to reincarnate? ...I guess though, that... having a place to go when you die, so you can, like... try to finish /living/, is something. You don't have to end it until you're ready. I do wonder, though... there must have been people sharing my philosophy, who decided they didn't want to cease existing. I wonder if Lumiere had a problem with them?"