It Won't Be Long - Season 10

BA - NA - NA - NA NA!

Roger Glipglorp: “Good evening… This is Roger Glipglorp, signing in."
Roger Glipglorp: "It has been a rough night for the citizens of the Pact Worlds, after the mysterious ritual led by the Cult of the Elder Mythos succeeded on Castrovel’s moon. I am happy to announce that we have news on the condition of the surviving members of the Dream Team, who have all reached a stable condition. For those just tuning in, earlier this morning we received confirmation that Isra and Cornelius of the Forge and Chamas of Castrovel have perished in the line of duty. Notable casualties also include Unari Dama of the Ikal Expanse, Fury in the Black — heir to the Tribe of the Morning Ember — Fish of Ezorod, and our local citizens Qwen and Dr. Oculet. Thunder in the Mist and Abelina Tremont are still missing in action."
Roger Glipglorp: "In a related story, the jungles of the Ikal Expanse have continued rotting over the last eight hours, as a viral black ooze spreads from the location once known as Caliria Maze. It is unknown at this time if the effect is related to the death of Unari Dama, but the surviving sentient species have been forced to relocate in the chaos, with the feline Ysoki tribes seeking refuge in nearby Qabarat."
Roger Glipglorp: "A short jump across the stars, the Akiton government continues to evacuate the populace to Montressor, even as the Children of the Forge struggle to control the location of their portals with Isra’s sudden passing. The Shield of Denial stationed there continues to hold the Daemons at bay, but experts state that the atmosphere of the planet is irreparable given the conflict, even after the massive insect slipped into the Drift."
Roger Glipglorp: "On Absalom Station, crews are working tirelessly to repair the hull surrounding alpha hanger and the Ghost Levels, after the being known as Crow tore their way inland towards the Starstone. While we don’t know exactly why the monster retreated, we have just received word that Valentina Terris, Nawa Jin, and a squadron from House Popov held the being at bay. Damage reports are still coming in, but we have heard from the mayor that the Starstone is intact, and will continue to power facilities."
Roger Glipglorp: "Now, we go to a press conference led by Lin Camulan, who will discuss new security measures surrounding civilian travel across the Pact Worlds…"

There is a warble in the transmission, and for a moment, we step outside this vision entirely, and go somewhere beyond… A vision full of failure, wayward visitors, and new hope.
We start onboard the Aga Jain, tethered at the expansive docks of the city of Qabarat — the Shining Jewel of the Western Sea. We see a hole is still being repaired on one side, three smaller ships and a motorcycle under maintenance beside it, as nanites surge on the broken edges, trying and failing to regenerate on their own. Within the ship, the Dream Team lies unconscious in stasis pods, 3D printers replacing skin ruined by the blast, while Dr. Lebowitz removes faulty nanites from Lockette’s open chest cavity, and inserts UPBs into her systems to encourage tissue growth. The camera pans to Lebowitz’s face as a bead of sweat falls down her brow, and a plume of smoke rises from two seats nestled into the shadows.
Wyatt shrugs off the sling on his arm, storing his lighter into the cloth, and shifts a box of cigarettes with his free hand. He offers one to the Ailuros from Mist’s adventures in the Azlanti Star Empire — the bushy-eyed Leto Xhao — but the cat shakes his head, and stares intently at the statistics flashing over Anastasia’s head. Then we pan out into the hall, where two shadows are content to be nearby, waiting for news. Caesura looks at Maximus Erebus, a playful smile building across his features, as he leans in to whisper.

Caesura: “Got any gum?”

Then we slip into the past, as we must if we are to go to Paradise, to the moments after the death of Chamas. Crow cracks their neck, paying no heed to the Haze as they pass by, shifting into their feminine form as they stride out into the hangar proper. Crow tilts their head as a pink-and-purple flash marks the firing of the Drift machinery in the hangar — a technology that Crow now understands, as if they had built it themselves. Dr. Oculet sits on a crate facing Crow, his coat haphazard and soiled with cerebral fluid. A USB drive is sticking out of the computer-half of his brain, a drunken smile plastered across his face.

Crow: “Fool. When you are mine, I will know where you have sent it.”
Dr. Oculet: “And where was that exactly?”

The doctor giggles, his hands flipping up into a rude gesture. Crow snarls, examining once more the USB stick, the virus already destroying the man’s memory. There is a scream as Dr. Oculet is swallowed hole into the darkness, a mote of angry flame flaring on Crow’s brow, and then we are thrust out of Absalom Station, and thrown into what has been lost.
A paw pierces the black, rising through the surface of a river, as Mist catches onto a branch hanging out above the water. Abelina floats unconscious beside him, his other paw full of her hair, pulled between two objects at least double his size. We watch as his claws begin to slide out of the wet bark, the river pulling him towards something worse than oblivion, just as a pale hand with black fingers clutches his forearm. The camera pans up to the wizened face of a beastial woman, just before she punches the lens and splinters the glass.
Through the cracks we go at last to the center, where all roads lead — where even Infinity comes for an end now and again. The dread tower of Vulreach on an island covered in sand, surrounded on all sides by the Void. Neiva sits on the edge, a bandage wrapped around her head, a golden sea hawk resting on her shoulder. The wretched boy known as Bast sits beside her, staring into the dark, and then his face collapses into his hands as he begins to weep.
Then the sterile smell of a hospital wafts under your noses, causing your face to clench, and you are pulled up and away from the dream.