Look - up in the sky...!

[thespaceopera]

Suddenly, the SS Pathstone and the SS Golden begin to move on their own... slowly, calmly, they drift to two different points, a certain distance apart, away from the other ships of the fleet. Then, just as slowly, they turn to face each other.

And that is all the warning there is before the engines engage -- full speed ahead.

Like a pair of rockets, the ships torpedo toward each other, perfectly lined up for a head-on collision, and there is nothing to stop them. No matter what buttons the crews press, no matter how much they might panic, nothing is going to stop the inevitable. Any other ships watching will not have time to attempt any sort of interception.

CRASH!!

As if to shield spectators' eyes from the horrors of ships colliding in space, there's a blinding light upon impact -- and once it gradually fades, the results can be clearly seen by all: There is no wreckage. Nothing is broken. But where there were once two ships... now there's only one.

One ship that is... very clearly made up of parts from the SS Pathstone and the SS Golden, but somehow seems well put together, at least!

-----------

On the bridge, the crews of the SS Golden and the SS Pathstone arrive, along with the usual pop! of Atroma confetti and ridiculous jingle music upon a successful shuffle. Sitting in the captain's chair is a round cake, just large enough for everyone to have one slice. There's a single candle, and the following message scribbled on top in yellow icing:

"Congratulations - SS Goldstone!
Happy Fusion!"




... What, did you think you were going to die? Sorry about that.

Comments

Action.

[throwsdown]

[Takeshi holds the large cake carefully, looking at everyone else with some concern. A pause as he blows upward to get some confetti off his forehead. Everything's different, and he's got new people on the ship he certainly doesn't remember being there, and — and — didn't they just crash?]

What happened?? What's a fusion mean??

[What on earth, you guys.

Yes, he'll be holding the cake the whole time.]

Action.

[youdontneedapictureofme]

[Maggie had to fight the impulse to rush forward and pull Takeshi into a hug, knowing full well he would want to be in Captain Mode, for the time being. Instead, she brushes some of the remaining confetti out of his hair as she reads the cake. Her eyebrows raise slightly as she mouths the words written on it, silent and still a bit shellshocked.]

I'm not.... sure? No one knows what's going on.

Action.

[throwsdown]

I thought we were gonna be super dead.

[A BIG, RELIEVED SIGH.]

Our ships smashed! I heard it! But I don't remember nothin' after that 'til we were here.

[That's usually how it works, he supposes.]

Action.

[youdontneedapictureofme]

Me too. I like us not being super dead, though. Dead tends to be a bad thing where I'm from.

[It should be where anyone's from, but the dead don't tend to stay dead in the conventional sense where she's from, sadly.]

Are you hurt?

Action.

[throwsdown]

[He shakes his head, still a bit disturbed, but...

Well, everyone seems okay, so he's okay.]

No, I'm fine! I'm just... real surprised.

Most of the time when things smash together, there's fires and stuff...

Action.

[youdontneedapictureofme]

Yeah, I know. That's usually what happens but I guess not this time.

[Thank god no one hoad died, apparently?]

Do you know any of these new people? I think they're from the other ship.

Action.

[throwsdown]

[He considers for a moment.]

I seen some around a little, but I don't know 'em real good.

D'you think they're all nice?

[He hopes so! He's eager to make some new crewmates.]

[youdontneedapictureofme]

I want to think so. They're in the same situation as us, after all.

[She wants to hope they're good people, at least. She knew better than to trust everyone she met, having learned first hand that humans were just as capable of awful things as Walkers. The key was not to let yourself forget it.]

What d'you say we at least break the ice by trying out this cake?

[Curious, she dips a finger into the frosting before licking it off.]

Tastes alright to me.

[And was the most amazing thing she'd seen in a long time that wasn't synthetic food, honestly.]

[throwsdown]

[He nods eagerly.]

Yeah!! It looks really super good, huh?! We should at least have something nice, since we're not all gonna die from a crash!

[Beaming now, because this is... kinda nice!

New crew is nice.]

[noprophecies]

[. . . smol captain where did that cake come from. He looks to be in one piece, though, and that's a good thing, so she reaches out to help get the confetti out of his hair]

Are you all right? It means to put things together, I believe.

[throwsdown]

[He's in one piece, and so is this cake, so... win-win.

He lets her fidget and clean his hair as he talks with wide, attentive eyes.]

I'm okay! But I'm just real confused! 'Cus I guess they did put things together, but I dunno how they did it, and maybe it was magic — like magicians! Did you ever see the magicians who can cut people in half and put them back together??

Maybe it's like that...!

[noprophecies]

[she gently ruffles his hair one more time before she pauses, eyebrows drawing down in confusion]

I . . . beg pardon, they do what?

[she knows of magicians, but she's never heard of them cut people in half wtf]

[throwsdown]

They saw 'em in half! They sit in a big box with their feet and head poking out and they get put in half! And then the magician, he pulls the two boxes apart, and the person's alive and stuff, and then they put them right back together!

[He almost drops the cake, trying to make a show of his hands, but recovers.]

Magic.

[noprophecies]

That - magicians do that?

[she reaches down to steady the cake as well, eyes wide at what she just learned]

Goodness . . . I will have to ask my friend about it. He is a magician.

[throwsdown]

Whoa!! You have a magician friend?!

[The cake bounces with his eagerness.]

Who is it?! Do I know 'em!?

[noprophecies]

[small child please, she reaches to steady the cake again]

I - do not know? Have you met Kaito yet?

[throwsdown]

[He shakes his head.]

Nuh-uh! They're crew on a ship here? I wanna see some magic tricks!

[experiencepoints]

[You're... a kid. Okay.]

Fusion is when two things combine into one. There's probably a lot more to it than what happened here.

Can I hold the cake for a moment?

[throwsdown]

Oh....

[He looks down like he's utterly forgotten he even had the cake.

Then he hands it over.]

It's for the crew! I guess we're all crewmates, too!

M'name's Takeshi, and I'm the captain on the Golden!

[experiencepoints]

[She takes the cake. And then it vanishes into thin air.]

I'm Nightingale. I'm the cook from the Pathstone, and a mage and stra-

... Did you just say 'captain'?

[throwsdown]

... Wuaaaah!! The cake! The cake's gone?!

[WHO CARES ABOUT CAPTAINS RIGHT NOW

He does a few laps around her, hands on his head.]

Where'd it go?! You magicked it away!!

[experiencepoints]

[SIGH.]

It's not magic- It's just in my inventory. I'm getting rid of it, because it's probably poisoned.

[throwsdown]

[He puts his hands on his hips, looking quite serious at her.

Yes he has to look up at her but whatever, he is quite confident.]

Miss Nightingale, you put that cake back right this second!

[experiencepoints]

[She folds her arms, even if the fiery staff makes that awkward.]

I am not putting back the damn poison cake.

[throwsdown]

We can test it for poison! we got cool labs for that stuff!

Nobody should waste a cake! Food like that is really hard to find, and it'd make the crew happy!

[HE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.]