Dark Reign - Dawn of a New Era

[Aidan]

It had been a harrowing morning. The escape from the shell of the Dreadnought as the command ship warped away had been terrifyingly hectic, but Hope and her team had managed to get back out onto the deck, where they were picked up by the Raiders as the Old Guard dealt with the ship. Once safely aboard the Legacy, they heard the news as satellites aimed at Tolaria picked up an explosion over Mount Infinity, followed by the broadcast that Aidan and the others had not only survive, but had successfully captured Anastasia and Demandred.

Everything that had come afterwards had been a blur as they recovered their companions and brought them back to the city. With so much work still left to be done, Hope had asked to be dropped off at the apartment she shared with Aidan in New Haven so that she could clean herself up. Her phone was blowing up with texts by the time she got out of the shower. She would check on them later - right now, she needed to slow down and get her head on straight.

She had texted Vouse after they had confirmed the others were alive and kept him updated as they returned to the city, letting him know that she was going to spend some time at home before rejoining everyone. He seemed just as worn out as she was. They had both been run through the wringer the last few days.

Her shower done, Hope changed into some lounge shorts and one of her brother's shirts before padding into the living room, towelling off her short, wavy hair.

[cautioncat]

It was a wild morning, for sure. Getting text updates from everyone kept him less worried, but it was worrisome none the less. He kept back, being muscle for those who needed it back in the city, working alongside his sister and mother.

When he got the text that Hope was settling back at her place for a bit, he asked if she wanted company.

[Aidan]

That text had been met with a simple one: <<Always.>>

[cautioncat]

Vouse would finish up what he was doing, and make his way to the apartment. It would take some time, but he would arrive not long after she was done showering.

He knocked on the door, before letting himself in. He looked ragged, tired, and dirty.

A shower would be nice, he thought as he saw her all cleaned up and drying. "Glad to know everyone made it alright. I imagine it was a hell of a fight."

[Aidan]

Hope made a face at the sight of Vouse as he crept in. She pointed toward the bathroom. "You. Shower. Now. I think you left some spare clothes around here somewhere..."

She padded silently into her bedroom to begin snooping around. "It was a near thing. There has been a lot of near things lately, but... this one felt... dangerous. Particularly when we got split up..."

[cautioncat]

"Okay okay." He chuckled, and nodded to her as she spoke. He followed her to the bedroom, as she looked for his spare clothes.

"How bad was it for you? Metas were causing a hell of a ruckus downtown where we were stationed."

[Aidan]

Hope rifled through drawers, finding some clothes Vouse had left there at some point. "It was... intense. My team didn't really fight with Ferrous on the launch deck - we dove into the ship at the earliest opportunity and scouted the way forward with Avatar. We dodged most of the robots and patrols until we got to a research facility."

Gathering the clothes, she turned to look at Vouse, her tail curling and swaying side to side. "Abyss confronted us there, except... whatever Eden did to heal her, worked. She wasn't willing to fight us at that point."

[cautioncat]

"Oh? That's... really good. Abyss is a force one can't really put down without hurting. I'm really happy she appreciated that."

Vouse took the clothes offered, and smiled, sighing. "Right, shower. Talk more after I'm clean."

With that, Vouse would be off to the bathroom. Mobian sized apartments were always just barely not big enough for him to maneuver through, but this one was thankfully more spacious than the one his parents had him and Ko stay at.

After about 45 minutes, he was finished getting all the grime out of his fur. He was fairly dirty, mostly sweat, and having a lot of fur didn't help either. Winter coats were also a pain to dry, but Hope's dryer was good enough to get him just dry enough to not feel soggy.

He opened the door of the bathroom, as he dried out his tail. "So did Abyss join you in the fight? Or did she just stand down?"

[Aidan]

While Vouse was showering, Hope had sat on the couch, knees drawn up, and turned on the news. Special reports were running on every channel, all under the same banner: Argus Defeated, Raiders Save Tolaria. There were interviews with metamobian experts discussing what this meant for Metropolis and the world at large, footage from the battle over New Haven, speeches made by governors and emergency services captains.

Hope barely heard the words, instead zoning out to the images of the battle. Lunar whispered in her mind, checking in on her. She still felt a little overwhelemed, but... good. It was a strong victory.


"Hm?" Hope blinked and shook herself from her reverie at Vouse's question. "Abyss? No... no, she stood down. Gave us some directions. It seemed like she had lost the will to fight. In a good way. She said she still felt no love for non-metas, but she wasn't committed to Demandred's view anymore either."

[cautioncat]

"Oooh... well shit. That's some progress." Vouse continued to dry himself, rubbing his fur with a towel with one hand, and getting himself with the blow drier with the other.

"Everyone seemed like they changed their minds or betrayed Demandred in the end. Funny, how he got played."

[Aidan]

A smile flickered over Hope's muzzle as she stood and moved over to the sliding doors leading out to the balcony. The view across Metropolis was impressive, but spoiled by distant plumes of smoke and dozens of airships moving slowly across the evening skyline.

"It's reassuring to know that everyone has lines they won't cross - even our enemies. I suppose it says something about Demandred as well, to be so convinced that his followers would be devoted to him to the end. Abyss suffered greatly at the hands at Mobians, yet even she decided not to change them, in the end. Nexus as well, from what I hear... although she may have been rebelling against Anastasia, more than Demandred."

Her expression grew troubled. "Demandred saw injustice in the way mobians treated metas, and wanted to swap places. My brother told me that Anastasia sought an end to magic, as a means to end the cycles of conflict Tolaria has often been involved in. It's strange to think they could be so convinced of the righteousness of their purposes, and yet go about them in such terrible ways..."

[cautioncat]

"Just when things were getting good, they decided to come around and ruin it all." Vouse sighed, and finished up drying himself. He was still a little damp, but it wouldn't bother him much. Getting the rest of his clothes on, he came out of the bathroom and looked to Hope on the balcony.

"Unnecessary bullshit from close minded folks." He joined her, and leaned on the railing. "I don't understand why we can't just... get along. Why people need to have so much hate for a type of Mobian, simply because of how a few assholes treated you badly. That doesn't go for the entire lot of them."

[Aidan]

Hope shivered in the cold and hugged herself. "Because it's easier than accepting that the world isn't as cruel as the few make it out to be, I suppose. It's hard to see the light when you only know darkness. I think that's why my sister wanted to help Abyss so badly."

[cautioncat]

"True, if you don't know any other way..." Vouse sighed, and leaned back. He moved behind Hope, draping his arms on either side of her shoulders, hugging her.

"I'm just glad it's over. Maybe they'll have a change of heart, or maybe they'll try to escape and cause problems all over again..."

[Aidan]

Hope gratefully leaned back into Vouse's warmth, a low rumble in the back of her throat. "Maybe. But at least they won't have the same resources as they had this time around. And it'll be hard rallying support when they lost so badly in the final battle."

She looked out across the city through heavy lidded eyes. "Mm... that won't be happening any time soon. We even have Anastasia in custody, slippery as she is."