> Jack wakes up the other two are around him. They immediately notice eachother They are confused but Jack knows whats going on.
> He gives them a general rundown of events and what this technology can do although he has yet to harness its true potential.
> They dont really care about him or his problems and think he is kind of a baby.
> They go off without jack to some nearby building. Although they dont know eachother that well they thing it easy to confide within eachother.
> Jack is disheartened by their decision to momentarily leave him but he has nothing better to do so he just sits there waiting for them to return.
> after about 15 minutes the two girls return. Jack is pleased to no longer have to be alone but he doesn't really know what to do next.
> The planet rumbles. Jack gets cold shivers he knows something is wrong about this.
> Jack begins to daydream one more time about a person. Her name is Mary, and she is a servant of The Lord. Her wings glisten in the holy light raining down from above her.
> She descends. a burst of holy light escapes.
> Jack gasps and snaps out of his dream.
> Jack's vision becomes clouded. he cant help but be disheartened by what he just saw even if it does confirm a few things he had balieved before.
> The Earth rumbles again. Meanwhile on the other side of the globe.
> The fault lines crack. The ground shakes. The earth below shatters as if by magic. The people nearby look into the abyss that is the crack. There is a glimmering rift below. The surface of the earth is shattering. Flakes of crust fly towards the center.
-5 Hours Remain-
> Lilith goes over to Jack.
> She slaps him on the face.
Lilith: Firstly who the fuck are you and what is this place and why does it look so boring.
Lilith: and secondly, How did you even bring us here.
Jack: uhhh. i just pressed the button and it kinda happened. oh and my name is Jack.
Luna: you are a big dumb idiot you know that. everything was going in my favor when you came along and put me in this depressive hellscape. how do you live like this you disgusting creature. I pity your species.
> Jack almost sheds a tear. He feels like he could just shrink down into nothingness. The other two notice this. He feels like he should storm off but he just stays put, and in one confident blow.
Jack: what the fuck is your guyses problem.
Jack: who do you think i am like, the president or something??? this isnt my fucking fault.
Jack: god.
Jack: have a little empathy.
> The other two are taken aback. they have underestimated him, severely.
> Jack stands sort of proud even if still a bit bereft by his previous beatdown.
Lilith: You know for a human youre not so bad at this stuff.
Jack: thanks i guess.
> Jack gets a cold shiver down his spine, as if something is fundamentally wrong but not just with this whole arrangement.
> He gets the feeling that this specific scenario stands out from the rest. He gets a marginal glimpse of the infinite continuum of scenarios that could ever possibly occur. It was at this moment that he realized the true purpose of all the events leading up to this circumstance. Luna tries to say something but she is cut off by Jack. The deafening silence remains. He knows now what they must do more than ever. Jack's expression changes from something sombre to something meaningfull and vast.
> Jack grabs onto the other two they are confused but before they can retalliate he presses the button but it does not work.
> They both chuckle at him.
Jack: Well we may have a problem.
Jack: i dont think we can reasonably get to the other side of the Earth in this amount of time.
Jack and waiting for our opportunity here is going to be dangerous.
> A small crack starts to appear somewhere north of where they stand in the country.
Luna: What the fuck are you talking about.
Jack: Ive had a vision. Something is very wrong.
Luna: And why is that our problem.
Jack: It just is okay does any one of you have any weird alien travelling powers.
> Lilith knows that he isnt lying and that something serious is about to go down. She can read him like a book. She gives a subtle glance to Luna that signifies that she can trust him and that what is about to happen is of utmost importance.
Lilith: I can give it a go but i wont promise anything.
Jack: Well fuck, lets do this then.
> Lilith grabs hold of both of them firmly and harshly, taking a natural leadership position even if Jack is the one giving all the orders because of his weird prophecies.
> She focuses her energy into one singular point in space and time. A crimson vector field flows around them spiraling around the very axis that they stand upon. Her eyes become as black as the abyss. With a singular thought from Jack she had already known where she needed to go but it wont just take them in space but also forward in time and for a while they will be stuck in a sort of limbo.
> They all awaken its dark around.
Jack: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO LILITH.
Lilith: Be patient, it wont be instant to get us there but it will be alot faster than your primitive technology but we will have to wait here for a while.
Luna: well thats fucking comforting.
Lilith: There are powers in this world that are beyond either of your comprehension's Science Magic Godhead all flowing into one continuum of power. I dont expect either of you to understand but I hold it on good authority that atleast one of you will begin to grasp it soon enough.
> Jack tries to say something but is cut off by Lilith.
Lilith: I myself come from the background of Magic being a Witch of Scarlet myself and I know you two are well versed in the powers of Technology considering the fact that one of you is what humans call a "Cyborg" and the other of you brought us to this wretched planet via a device.
Lilith: Which is to say the power of gods is something we are missing in our trio and I doubt any of us will obtain it any time soon.
> They continue to chat like this for about 3 hours. Lilith's words grate against Jack whilst he basques in the loneliness of what is happening. He feels distant from the other two even though they have all just met. Lilith and Luna are chatting happily The abyss swirls around them. A bright light forms an opening in the vast abyss they are in.
-2 Hours Remain-
-Decaying Australia-
> Despite not being from this planet Lilith was pretty quickly able to figure out where they needed to go partly because of Jack's statements about the distance and partly because she just had a strong urge that this was right and this was what she needed to do.
> Jack lets out a sigh not of relief or desperation but just a long sigh. He breathes in the air, usually this place would be hot around this time but this already dying planet being struck by whatever catastrophes it currently is means that it is cool. Jack breathes in the air it's cold. By this point Lilith's energy levels are running pretty low they have time to kill before they need to get to work so they decide to go get something to eat. Jack isnt exactly poor but they cant splurge out, and Lilith and Luna cant really use their currency here even if the raw materials would be pretty valuable.
> Luna doesnt care what she eats same as Jack, they are both pretty unpicky with this but Lilith specifically needs to eat some sort of red meat as it is the only acceptable source of enough blood for her to consume.
> Jack returns with the goods. Lilith without any hesitation begins to eat the meat like a feral animal, its messy but she holds no shame. The paleness of her skin from lack of blood fades away as her skin returns to the vibrant red it was once before. Jack and Luna are sort of horrified and intrigued by this discovery. Luna and Jack are just eating fresh bread because they arent that hungry after all theyve barely done anything this whole time.
Jack: so, Luna and Lilith, not to be rude but you arent exactly human so what are you.
Lilith: Well i think your equivelant of what i am would be a demon.
Luna: and i am a species that resembles a humanoid version of the species you call a cat.
Luna: i wont waste time telling you the specifics because its irrelevant.
Luna: but there used to be many districts on my planet.
Lilith: My planet was very similar to what yours used to be like Jack, well before it started to decay due to your decrepid rulers.
Lilith: It was also imbued with a magic to its very core.
Lilith: it was quite marvelous.
> As they are chatting a large crack appears near them. They immediately know that it is time for action when this happens.
> Jack looks down the crack and sees a swirling cosmic rift. He gets sick to his stomach.
Jack: even just seeing it in person despite knowing what was happening here. it makes me feel sick
Jack: is this really how its meant to happen
> Lilith nods as to signify that this is whats going to happen and she cant do anything about it now.
> Lilith and Luna try to focus their energy onto the rift Jack sits there trying to fix the machine that had originally brought them there just incase. He barely knows how it works but he knows that if they are going to escape then it will be a neccessary part of their adventure They realize they are just making the rift grow larger.
> Everyone stops. Its as if time could freeze in place. But the endless keeps marching on. Jack doesnt want to just give up here after all what would this all be for if not for Earth.
> Flakes of the earth's crust are going into the rift. Jack is disheartened by this discovery but he knows what must be done.
Jack: Well this is really it huh.
> Everyone else stays silent.
> The surface cracks more and more as they stand there idle. Jack grabs the other two and confidently presses the button. He knows not where they will end up or what will happen but this is all they have.
-Kepler-452b-
> Jack looks into the vast cosmos surrounding him. It dawns upon him that what he once had will never return.
> You cut to The Author again.
Suitable time for another interjection dont you think.
I dont expect you to understand the sheer significance of all of this however shit is getting real now.
> You Sit down without even trying to as if she has some sort of grasp over your very existence in this plane.
> You... You....... You dont know what is happening here anymore. You look stressed out.
But we both know there is no reason for you to be stressed
I think its very clear to you now that i am not merely just the writer of this story but the narrator of the events that are unfolding beneath us.
You may act confused but it does not matter for the objective truth is that i am in control here.
You turn to me inquisitively you dont need to try to do it because i say you do it and so you do.
You try to think anything other than what i want you to but you cant because as ive said before i am truly in control here. i may relinquish your chains but that would lead to complete dissolution of my narrative focus more so than what is already transpiring right now.
I pity your determination however your acts are fruitless here why dont we cut to something more interesting than the main 3 bickering about their new predicament.
We shall go thousands of years into the past to see a glimpse at one of my favourite characters backstory and how everything came to be.
I see you have returned, Good. Now you may be a little more knowledgeable on this all. Im sure my clues may have led you to believe that this is closely related or referencing some other narrative that you may be familiar with however that was inface a ruse because there are no intertwining things here. No need to act confused. I think that little interjection has gave me enough time to come up with an interesting narrative for the other 3 characters who are stuck on that planet. Dont you think?
> Jack, Lilith, and Luna have set up camp. They have opted to eat fish because they dont want to waste any more energy than they have to and Lilith needs the blood to survive, They are also incredibly easy to catch. Additionally as expected the catgirl Luna is quite fond of fish they are one of her favourite things. Everyone else thinks she is cute when she eats them like that but she doesnt seem to see it. Her whole demeanor is pretty cute which isnt a suprise to anyone. She likes to get pet by Lilith most often.
> Jack thinks he has too much facial and body hair now he likes to maintain a clean appearance but he doesnt have an easy way to remove it yet this planet is pretty primitive and they are going to have to reinvent a lot of things however all 3 of them combined have a pretty vast knowledge base, however it seems like it isnt enough to reinvent a simple razor maybe because they dont know how they are going to go about sharpening metal to that degree yet.
> Luna and Lilith often sleep together for additional warmth and no other reasons and Jack often sleeps in his coat or near the fire to not get too cold. There arent really any predators in this area the only thing they have to fear right now is Liliths dominant and demeaning stature and presence. Jack well he doesnt think of himself as too much of a man even if he should but he likes to think he can maintain enough confidence but she is just something else.
> The days on this planet are not too disimilar to Earth's in length but they are still slightly longer. The temperatures fluctuate greatly but on average it is not anything that they havent all experienced before, even Jack with his dying cold world had experienced hotter temperatures in his time there. It is the equivelant of winter on this planet however, meaning most of the time the planet is very cold.
> They all pass the time often by telling stories of their home land to eachother. Lilith often tries to use her powers again to escape but she has no bearing on where here home would even be or if its even in a plane she can reach and the only other place she knew how to travel around concretely was just consumed by a rift no less than a week ago.
Oh did i forget to mention, They have spent a week on this planet. I am a bit forgetful as writer after all so you will have to bear with me.
> But in this week Jack had quickly grown tired of the girls' "shenanigans", I hope you can understand what this means.
> There seems to be no other intelligent life on this planet except these three, it is a shame really. Jack without the technology to fix the device and no other people being here means that they are stuck on a cold desolate planet lonely only with eachother.
> Lilith has been practicing her powers in this time, the combination of her being a witch and being a demon makes it easy for her to modify her own appearence although she often only uses it for special circumstances. mostly she just uses her powers for hunting nowadays.
> Luna's armor has began to rust a little bit and without the facilities to clean it the situation might become dire in terms of her protection.
> Lilith kisses Luna on the cheek.
Lilith: So, same as always today or are we finally close to making a breakthrough, No offense but this planet is boring.
Jack: Nothing yet.
See, that was pretty good right. I would say im pretty good at telling a story in a way that suits this medium best.
-A few days later : Very Early Morning-
> Lilith and Luna are both asleep and cuddling eachother, Jack is working on some pretty primitive mechanism, He hasnt been able to sleep right at all for the past few days. Their progress on this planet has been very limited and very slow. Luna and Lilith however, are taking it far from slow they are very obviously a thing now more so than before, Like even if you didnt read Act 2 Secret 1 it would be pretty obvious what is going on by now. Jack is very obviously being affected by sleep deprivation by this point he picks up his tools and... He passes out with a loud thud just barely missing the mechanism leaving it undamaged.
> Lilith and Luna stay asleep.
> Jack stays asleep for the whole following day. Lilith makes sure to pick him up and leave him somewhere safe and the same for this mechanisms although she barely understands them she gets the sense that its something important. They sit around the dead fireplace, It would be pretty easy for them to relight it but they have no reason to for it is not even that cold.
Lilith: So, any advancements on your part.
Luna: No sowwy.
> She somehow visibly makes the :3 face.
Lilith: aw, its ok we are all stranded here with barely anything and my powers are going to be very limited in terms of transportation for a while.
Luna: I guess we are all just kinda stuck here until this goofy little guy makes a breakthrough with whatever hes doing.
Luna: Which is to say we might be here for a while, To be honest i have no real idea about any of this stuff its new even to me but i believe in him.
> Days upon Days countless dark nights all pass by the blink of an eye, The universe slowly slowly settles into entropy in a timescale beyond them but, the cosmos around them begins to shatter more and more rifts begin to appear they are almost like a window into an alternate realm but entering would be a grave mistake for anyone of this universe or others. You would surely be rend asunder by any creatures you encounter if you can even survive the journey to the inside and well, The rift would seal behind you. These sorts of things dont take kindle to bacterions in it's system.
> Denizens of the rift had begun to appear in the planet and they had been becoming increasingly apparant to the cast their body is forged in abyss their husk's are blacker than black. Their claws are almost sharp enough to tear a hole in the fabric of spacetime itself their shrieks are deafening. The creature approaches Jack who is looking worse than ever, They all are its hard to stay clean when you barely have access to clean water. Jack draws from his deck of cards: King of Clubs, Nine of Diamonds, Seven of Diamonds, Ace of Spades, Ten of Diamonds.
High Value : Deliverance
> The cards strike the voidborne foe before it can even lay a hand on Jack, he has become quite adept at fighting them now, The high value card instantly targets the enemy dealing extra damage to its carapace it bleeds its vantablack blood the other cards act as normal.
> The higher the value of the card the more damage it will do and the more powerful its effect's are. The four suits act as according.
* Spades : Mind
* Clubs : Body
* Heart : Soul
* Diamonds : Blood
> Additionally cards based on poker hands have special effects, as you have seen previously a high value card by itself has an effect named deliverance it makes the part of the creature attacked by the card take significantly increased damage from that card.
> For a list of hands see below.
* High Value : Deliverance
* Pair : Double Vision
* Two Pair : Quaternary
* Three of a Kind : Unison
* Straight : Holy Barrage
* Flush : Furtherance
* Full House : Dissolution
* Four of a Kind : Cascade
* Straight Flush : Ultimatum
* Royal Flush : Divine Intervention
> Furthermore getting exactly 21 where an ace can be worth 1 or 11 causes the cards to become explosive on enemy hits.
> Now that this is over, Jack goes over to the corpse he throws it into the pile with the rest of them, they make suitably good fuel despite everything but they arent very easy to consume and they taste like shit, Lilith cant really consistently eat them anyway because their blood isnt nutritious for her Lilith and Luna had been fighting the creatures themselves but their powers are relatively straightforward well more so than Jack's so i thought this would be a suitable time to interject with an explanation.
> Low value cards may apply a simple debuff whereas high value cards may deal critical damage to the part in question itself.
> Unfortunately for Jack his luck is shit.
> It wouldnt be long before they would start to encounter tougher enemies but mostly it was uneventful and things began to settle down for a little while. Lilith and Luna had somehow become even closer in the bloodshed they are both somewhat natural born killers whereas Jack had to become adjusted to it all its been about 3 weeks and 4 days since their first arrival here. They are all wondering when they are finally going to be able to go somewhere with slightly more inhabitants but it seems like this might be their home for a while now.
> Suddently.
sputnik: hello my fellow destitute's i be a saviour to ye, hehehe hahaha
Jack: who the fuck are you i thought you people couldnt speak.
sputnik: oh quite the contrary my good man, i know how to speak very well and i am here to save you all
> Jack tries to attack sputnik but its irrelevant what he draws because they all miss as if sputnik was stood in the perfect position and configuration to miss all of the attacks completely.
sputnik: come on JAck everyone knows silly little creatures like me have plot armor :>
Jack: ok firstly what the fuck does that even mean what are you talking about
Jack: and secondly how the fuck are you doing that with your face
sputnik: secret my friend :>
> Jack tries to punch sputnik but they remain unphased which just makes Jack even more mad. He now realises that he probably cant get rid of them so easily. This is his own special hell that exists just to torment him and him alone. The two girls seem unphased by this discovery.
> sputnik winks at Jack which subsequently sends shivers down his spine and makes him sick to his stomach even instinctually he knows this guy is disgusting and a real shit-eater. sputnik just grins at him. He just kinda stands there near Jack just watching creepily.
> The culmination of all of their work is begining to manifest Jack is nearly done with his work on the device, and with one satisfying click into place the machins is done. Jack presses the button and... and......