AvaldoniaBoard

"Nowhere." A voice speaks through the dark. Michelle replies, "You... You're that hooded figure, right?" Michelle can barely make out the figure. It replies, "You already got my name, Michelle." Of course. Michelle responds, "Tom. So you're Alans son, huh?" Tom nods, his ghostly figure wispy through a transparent fog in the void they're standing in. "I'm the link between your dimensions," Tom explains, "I choose. I choose who lives and dies, just like you did." What? Michelle didn't choose anything on life and death. Well, recently at least. Being a Leader is surprisingly quite an action-packed adventure. Michelle shakes her head, "What do you mean?" Tom shouts in reply, "You know what I mean! Everything you did in the capital? The cruelty of the camps? The zones you left me and Daisy to die?" Michelle argues, "I didn't order that! Director Alans, your father, was given control of containment procedures from the moment that city went into lockdown. I only ever recommended a change rather than the shelter-in-place so citizens could leave. I could've never known your father's true intentions for those camps, and I'm sorry." Tom breathes shakily, shaking his head, "No. My father would never! Just... just go!" And Michelle is swept away...

GASP! Back to the "Stranded" universe. Michelle's hand rises through the snow as she pushes herself to the surface. The plane, their shelter, is almost completely filled with snow, only leaving room on the ceiling. Everyone else shouts, some rising from the surface, others shouting for help from under the snow. "Somebody! Help Anna!" Maya yells, half submerged, "Don't step on her!" Michelle rises, along with Ivan. "Michelle!" Ivan yells, "Go, go help Anna! I'm going to get Andrew and Ernest!" Michelle crawls over to Maya as Ivan goes to where Ernest and Andrew seem to be shouting. Maya digs around, screaming for Anna. "Maya, Maya please work with me!" Michelle says through her shivering, but Maya is hysterical. "GET ANNA OUT!" Maya screams, possibly delirious from injury, the cold, or both. Regardless, Michelle digs. Her hands sting, but she continues digging. And digging... Then... Anna. But she's... Maya shouts louder, "Anna? ANNA!? WAKE UP!" Michelle closes her eyes...

Michelle reverts to the "Landed" universe... Ivan walks off stage, finishing a celebration song of some sort..? "🎶We'll teach the world to love... My dead gay SOOOON!🎶" ...What did Michelle miss? The crowd claps in relief as Ivan runs off the stage with his Scientific Advancement Peace Award. Harrison leans to Michelle, "Are... you crying?" Michelle touches her face, tears spilling from the ongoing events in the "Stranded" dimension. Harrison continues, "Well, I guess I can't blame you after that ear-shattering song..." Michelle looks back to the stage, and Anna and Maya are already up there to receive the Medical Advancement award. Anna shakes hands with Duchess Anna, the very woman she's named after, before speaking on the pedestal, "Even though the trip here started a bit odd... May pilots Erin Walker and Ian Kinley rest in peace... Me and my fiancée are so grateful to still be here today for this award. After discovering Eko, and fighting for the antiserum to the very same virus, we have come a long way..." The pilots... Michelle remembers them dying right after they died in the Stranded dimension. Tom said he was a link... If Anna died, could that mean... Michelle stands as she realizes. Anna and Maya complete their speech by the time Michelle is rushing down the aisle, to backstage where they're headed. Michelle enters the backstage area, shouting, "Anna, Maya!" The two turn around and stop walking just in time... An overhead ceiling fan disconnects and falls directly where Anna would've been had Michelle not stopped them... That confirms it for Michelle.

Michelle pushes the two towards the exit, "We need to go somewhere safe, now!" Anna and Maya stop Michelle, Anna yelling, "What is going on!? Is this to do with your multiverse nonsense?" Michelle sighs, "Yes! Look, the worlds I'm in are linked. You died in the alternate dimension..." Michelle gestures to Anna, "And now you're in danger here too! Just like with the pilots!" Maya gives Michelle a sympathetic look, holding Michelle's shoulders, "Okay, just slow down. Explain." But Michelle's head is hurting too much. Next thing she knows, it's back to the "Stranded" universe... "Where's Ernest and Judy!?" Ivan shouts, returning to the snow-filled wreckage with Andrew and Harrison. Michelle looks back, seeing Maya holding Anna's lifeless body. Ivan can only look for a moment, "We need to look outside. Harrison, Andrew, start clearing out the snow. We should leave Maya be for now..." Michelle hesitates for a moment before following Ivan outside the wreck. They search through the frigid blizzard before Ivan shouts, "Here!" They dig up Judy, who's still alive. Michelle sends her back in to start clearing out the snow. They then pull out Ernest, who's in much worse shape. They're unconscious, shivering so violently that they almost look to be convulsing. Michelle notices Ernest's hands and lips. They're black and blue. Ivan simply mutters, "Frostbite..."

The group clears out the snow from the wreckage, the blizzard outside clearing as the mountains enter night. Anna's body is laid on a luggage rack at the front of the plane, with Ernest being placed nearby as they fight for survival. But it won't last long... Maya, who's calmed slightly from Anna's death, inspects Ernest. She speaks, "Severe frostbite and possibly pneumonia. They're not going to last the night..." The group silently takes that in. Two lost in one day... Ernest is too weak to speak, but is just strong enough to write out his last words on a notepad. The note is passed around, finally reaching Michelle: "Coming home is terrible, whether the dogs licked my face or not. Whether I had a wife, or just a wife-shaped loneliness awaiting me. Coming home was always terribly lonely for me, but you guys made that feel less so. I've never had much of a family, but you guys are the closest I ever got. Survive. Take Judy's hike toward the city of Azzule. Eat my body if you must. Don't let us die in vain. Fight open mouth, open heart." Ernest would soon take his last breath. Judy would put her foot down, announcing to everyone before bed: "Tomorrow, I'm hiking east toward Azzule. Come if you want, I don't care if I go alone." And the survivors rest...

Michelle returns to the "Landed" universe, everyone's now outside of the venue's back entrance. They seem to be... arguing. "Michelle would never lie about this, I've gone through it too!" Harrison yells to Maya, disbelieving of Michelle's story in the "Stranded" universe. Ernest and Andrew mostly stand aside, holding their National Protector Peace Awards. Eventually, Anna shouts over everyone. "Enough! All of you. I'm not going to let the death of me in a seperate dimension rule my life here!" Anna steps away from the group, further down the sidewalk, where there seems to be an outdoor cafe. "I died in that world, but here, I lived! We should just... Get over it." Anna turns on her heel. Suddenly... CRACK! The outdoor cafe's neon sign disconnects from the roof, swinging down right toward Anna. "Anna!" Michelle screams, but there's little time to react... Ernest pushes Anna to the ground as the sign swings overhead, saving her. Ernest stands back up, and Anna sits back up slightly before looking behind Ernest in terror. Andrew and Ivan shouted something Ernest couldn't quite make out. But as Ernest turns around... The sign swings back at him. CRASH!

to be continued...

"Nowhere." A voice speaks through the dark. Michelle replies, "You... You're that hooded figure, right?" Michelle can barely make out the figure. It replies, "You already got my name, Michelle." Of course. Michelle responds, "Tom. So you're Alans son, huh?" Tom nods, his ghostly figure wispy through a transparent fog in the void they're standing in. "I'm the link between your dimensions," Tom explains, "I choose. I choose who lives and dies, just like you did." What? Michelle didn't choose anything on life and death. Well, recently at least. Being a Leader is surprisingly quite an action-packed adventure. Michelle shakes her head, "What do you mean?" Tom shouts in reply, "You know what I mean! Everything you did in the capital? The cruelty of the camps? The zones you left me and Daisy to die?" Michelle argues, "I didn't order that! Director Alans, your father, was given control of containment procedures from the moment that city went into lockdown. I only ever recommended a change rather than the shelter-in-place so citizens could leave. I could've never known your father's true intentions for those camps, and I'm sorry." Tom breathes shakily, shaking his head, "No. My father would never! Just... just go!" And Michelle is swept away...

GASP! Back to the "Stranded" universe. Michelle's hand rises through the snow as she pushes herself to the surface. The plane, their shelter, is almost completely filled with snow, only leaving room on the ceiling. Everyone else shouts, some rising from the surface, others shouting for help from under the snow. "Somebody! Help Anna!" Maya yells, half submerged, "Don't step on her!" Michelle rises, along with Ivan. "Michelle!" Ivan yells, "Go, go help Anna! I'm going to get Andrew and Ernest!" Michelle crawls over to Maya as Ivan goes to where Ernest and Andrew seem to be shouting. Maya digs around, screaming for Anna. "Maya, Maya please work with me!" Michelle says through her shivering, but Maya is hysterical. "GET ANNA OUT!" Maya screams, possibly delirious from injury, the cold, or both. Regardless, Michelle digs. Her hands sting, but she continues digging. And digging... Then... Anna. But she's... Maya shouts louder, "Anna? ANNA!? WAKE UP!" Michelle closes her eyes...

Michelle reverts to the "Landed" universe... Ivan walks off stage, finishing a celebration song of some sort..? "🎶We'll teach the world to love... My dead gay SOOOON!🎶" ...What did Michelle miss? The crowd claps in relief as Ivan runs off the stage with his Scientific Advancement Peace Award. Harrison leans to Michelle, "Are... you crying?" Michelle touches her face, tears spilling from the ongoing events in the "Stranded" dimension. Harrison continues, "Well, I guess I can't blame you after that ear-shattering song..." Michelle looks back to the stage, and Anna and Maya are already up there to receive the Medical Advancement award. Anna shakes hands with Duchess Anna, the very woman she's named after, before speaking on the pedestal, "Even though the trip here started a bit odd... May pilots Erin Walker and Ian Kinley rest in peace... Me and my fiancée are so grateful to still be here today for this award. After discovering Eko, and fighting for the antiserum to the very same virus, we have come a long way..." The pilots... Michelle remembers them dying right after they died in the Stranded dimension. Tom said he was a link... If Anna died, could that mean... Michelle stands as she realizes. Anna and Maya complete their speech by the time Michelle is rushing down the aisle, to backstage where they're headed. Michelle enters the backstage area, shouting, "Anna, Maya!" The two turn around and stop walking just in time... An overhead ceiling fan disconnects and falls directly where Anna would've been had Michelle not stopped them... That confirms it for Michelle.

Michelle pushes the two towards the exit, "We need to go somewhere safe, now!" Anna and Maya stop Michelle, Anna yelling, "What is going on!? Is this to do with your multiverse nonsense?" Michelle sighs, "Yes! Look, the worlds I'm in are linked. You died in the alternate dimension..." Michelle gestures to Anna, "And now you're in danger here too! Just like with the pilots!" Maya gives Michelle a sympathetic look, holding Michelle's shoulders, "Okay, just slow down. Explain." But Michelle's head is hurting too much. Next thing she knows, it's back to the "Stranded" universe... "Where's Ernest and Judy!?" Ivan shouts, returning to the snow-filled wreckage with Andrew and Harrison. Michelle looks back, seeing Maya holding Anna's lifeless body. Ivan can only look for a moment, "We need to look outside. Harrison, Andrew, start clearing out the snow. We should leave Maya be for now..." Michelle hesitates for a moment before following Ivan outside the wreck. They search through the frigid blizzard before Ivan shouts, "Here!" They dig up Judy, who's still alive. Michelle sends her back in to start clearing out the snow. They then pull out Ernest, who's in much worse shape. They're unconscious, shivering so violently that they almost look to be convulsing. Michelle notices Ernest's hands and lips. They're black and blue. Ivan simply mutters, "Frostbite..."

The group clears out the snow from the wreckage, the blizzard outside clearing as the mountains enter night. Anna's body is laid on a luggage rack at the front of the plane, with Ernest being placed nearby as they fight for survival. But it won't last long... Maya, who's calmed slightly from Anna's death, inspects Ernest. She speaks, "Severe frostbite and possibly pneumonia. They're not going to last the night..." The group silently takes that in. Two lost in one day... Ernest is too weak to speak, but is just strong enough to write out his last words on a notepad. The note is passed around, finally reaching Michelle: "Coming home is terrible, whether the dogs licked my face or not. Whether I had a wife, or just a wife-shaped loneliness awaiting me. Coming home was always terribly lonely for me, but you guys made that feel less so. I've never had much of a family, but you guys are the closest I ever got. Survive. Take Judy's hike toward the city of Azzule. Eat my body if you must. Don't let us die in vain. Fight open mouth, open heart." Ernest would soon take his last breath. Judy would put her foot down, announcing to everyone before bed: "Tomorrow, I'm hiking east toward Azzule. Come if you want, I don't care if I go alone." And the survivors rest...

Michelle returns to the "Landed" universe, everyone's now outside of the venue's back entrance. They seem to be... arguing. "Michelle would never lie about this, I've gone through it too!" Harrison yells to Maya, disbelieving of Michelle's story in the "Stranded" universe. Ernest and Andrew mostly stand aside, holding their National Protector Peace Awards. Eventually, Anna shouts over everyone. "Enough! All of you. I'm not going to let the death of me in a seperate dimension rule my life here!" Anna steps away from the group, further down the sidewalk, where there seems to be an outdoor cafe. "I died in that world, but here, I lived! We should just... Get over it." Anna turns on her heel. Suddenly... CRACK! The outdoor cafe's neon sign disconnects from the roof, swinging down right toward Anna. "Anna!" Michelle screams, but there's little time to react... Ernest pushes Anna to the ground as the sign swings overhead, saving her. Ernest stands back up, and Anna sits back up slightly before looking behind Ernest in terror. Andrew and Ivan shouted something Ernest couldn't quite make out. But as Ernest turns around... The sign swings back at him. CRASH!

to be continued...

NIA Finds Report of Tribal Genocide in NE; Salisbury Government Condems NE Administration 3 years after the Nexian Empire expanded from its original borders towards the Horn of Africa, the National Intelligence Agency gives a bombshell report of genocide on the tribal peoples. The report further states that at least a million were murdered in order to make way for Nexian rule in the Horn of Africa, erasing many distinct cultures and ethnicities from the Earth. This sent shockwaves all over the world, as at home, the Torchlandic Government confirmed it as a fact and condemned the Nexian Empire for genociding them due to their refusal to be under Nexian rule. The Prime Minister came out at a press conference this morning stating, "The Torchlandic and Nexian Government are close allies, as we are together under the Condorian banner, but I cannot continue this unless the Nexian Government starts apologising and making things right." He continued, "This sets a horrible precedent of the Condor Union to the world, with sceptics of the union aiming to find any holes, and unfortunately, this was the case. Fortunately, no Torchlandic or Paxium equipment or soldiers were found being used in this case of ethnic cleansing. However, we do want to emphasise the urgency of the situation to make things clear and make things right. This will certainly be a dark day for all Africans, but as Valery Legasov says it best, "Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid" and that day is today." With this, it sparked protests especially in tribal-majority areas of Torchland, particularly in the Natal state, that the Nexian Empire must be ejected from the Union once and for all. Protestors noted that the Salisbury Government should not and must not work with people with blood on their hands and some are afraid of a possibility happening to them, though this narrative was pushed by the Economic Freedom Fighters, who are a group of Black Nationalist communists who try to stir the pot in order to gain votes. Torchlandic Officials noted a possibility of this happening, but negotiations are underway to solve this issue, with a likelihood of reform from the Torchlandic and Paxium representatives in the Condorian Parliament pushing for reformation, and a possibility of democratisation of the Empire, and moving it towards a democracy for the greater good of the Union as a collective. It is unknown what the Nexian response to this report will be, but the Torchlandic Government hopes the Nexian counterpart can swallow its pride and take responsibility for the wrongs they have committed.