Steve3: Twilight of the Chosen
Your floating in the air, it feels as if something is holding you up by your chest, you calmly allow the rest of your body to lay back into it. It is white all around you but the wind flows past you, it feels as if your moving so fast now. Somewhere between dreaming and waking. You open your eyes but all is white, you lay your head back as you fly through the white. "Fwoosh" For a split second something blinks past you. You look around but nothing. "Fwoosh" Again, you know it this time. Again, slightly longer this time. A fleeting glimpse of color. Again, now it feels as if your slowing down. Again, they are coming faster now. Slowly you come to a stop as flicker slows to an actual picture in front of you. It pulls all around you and suddenly it is all around you.
You stand on one of the large patio's at the Mormon temple in Oakland. Before it was destroyed. Before Mike turned evil, before everything. You see yourself, younger, and you see everyone else. You're bidding Mike goodbye before leaving after your first adventure. You smile, those were good times. The setting sun frames the scene nicely. You see Mike turn after the group leaves, the landscape melts around him to the background of what looks to be the large meeting hall of the Elders. Mike walks inside. "Don't you see what I've done?! I've figured out the reality drive in the Buick, I've brought back Nicole!" The lead elder stands abruptly in anger. "Mike you cannot wield life and death like this! It is not how life is supposed to flow!" "LIES OLD MAN. I can move into realities where good people never turned evil, where power never corrupted. If given the right tools, I can reshape, I can re-edit and direct all of the realities into one, one perfect story. No pain, no suffering, no loss." Mike pleaded. "But what of the creations of this pain, the brotherhoods forged in the face of trial? What of the people you deem not good enough, the dreams, the outcomes never given a chance?" "They mean nothing, if they were to be replaced by how they should be! We could all be with those we treasure, we could all belong. Those who should never have died, won't have too. I can take them from another reality and add them like they should have always been." "It is too much power for one man alone, it is not how we were intended to be! Without the trials and suffering of life, how would we ever know it's pleasures, how can you treasure something when you never know what it is to not have it!" "You FEAR ME." "No Michael, I do not, but until you can understand this, you are ordered to return Nicole, and whatever else you have misplaced" Michael stood from his chair, anger pulsing through him. "No.." "The elders have chosen, if you wish to be one of us, to protect all, you must choose to do the right thing no matter how much it hurts, no matter what else is possible." Mike stood bent over the long table arms outstretched, holding him above the table. His head falling low. He said nothing, turned and walked past you, no one noticed you standing in the room. No one else could see the tears on Michael's face. As Mike walked past you, the location melted again.
Now, it seemed as if Mike was in the lower hanger of some large base, perhaps Mormon, or perhaps the early stages of the Gabok or SPOT. Nicole sat on a large engine piece waiting to be installed somewhere. Mike walked up to her. He spoke quickly. "The Gabok and SPOT are finished, the elders, they have caught on Nicole. They know you exist, they know about everything." "Michael. Our plan, the Hawaiian shirts were always made to save humanity. If we can rewrite reality how it should be, where we can all be friends again, where we never split apart, never were forced away by responsibility, Isn't it worth it?" Mike looked up at her, unsure of himself. "Yes?" "Yes." You heard his voice repeat, only not from the Mike in the story you were watching. No, but from behind you. It was the Mike you were just fighting a second ago. He noticed you but he did nothing, still watching. You did it as well. Back to the story in front of you. Mike steadied himself. "I have forged an alliance with the Canadians and the fallen Mormon Ninjas. I've tried my best to create the clones of Norman. If we strike quickly, we can remove the elder leadership of the Mormons. With all of their people gathered on the SPOT, they wont possibly be able to notice us take Margaritaville. Once we take over the crossroads of reality, all we must do is combine the Hawiian shirt power of past, present, and future. That is the key to full control. With the full power, I can merge all reality into one, and with it create a perfect world." "And destroy all that ever could have been." You say to the Mike next to you. He looks at you but says nothing.
The world morphs again, this time Mike is in the Gabok. Nolan, almost awake. Nicole stands beside him. The Ninja Stephen talking to him over the radio. "I have the girl" Mike turned toward Nicole "The future power of the Hawaiian Shirt, All that is left is to activate it." "Mike have you seen what Steve and his friends have done?" "Yes I" "No I couldn't see it" The Mike next to you said to himself as the other one still spoke. "Yes, the bonds they have forged in spite of all we have done is amazing." "What will happen to them Michael?" "As they are now? Well that will change, they may not even know each other afterwards, whatever would be best" Nicole looked surprised, "But Mike, what about us, will we still know them, what of all the times we've all shared? What of those?" "They will be lost, but for the greater good, I will create better ones. How they should have been" Silence, Nicole turned away from Mike. The Mike next to you spoke, "I never noticed that she cried" Nicole spoke again. "Mike What if I What if they don't want to lose those memories, or the friendships they have now, even if they aren't wern't perfect?" The Mike in the story turned to her. "What of it? They may enjoy it now, but after it is over, it won't last! It will change! They will move back into how their lives should be and there will be distance! There will be pain, and loneliness because those times were fleeting, but what if I can change that, put people in the right places, that way, no one leaves, everyone stays together how they should be. There is no loss." "But you never meet anyone new, Mike." You say. "You never meet people who would be willing to sacrifice for you, you never meet people to form new bonds you can't live without. Mike." The landscape and story faded back to white again. Only you and Mike stand in front of each other. Behind Mike, a door is left open. The wind blows from behind you towards the door. Moving pictures float past you in the white, they follow the wind into the door and disappear. "Mike? What is this?" You yell over the wind which is getting stronger. "The end of everything, Steve." Mike says. "Did you create that story I just watched?" "I only recalled it Steve. That is how things came to be, and that is how they will come to end." He yelled back over the wind. You brace yourself a bit as the wind is pushing harder. "You?! These pictures? Are they different realities, possibilities?" "Yes" "And the door are you moving them into the door? Why?" "They are ending Steve, or rather becoming ready to re-begin" "Mike!" You yell "Mike how can you destroy everything we have built." Instinctively you use the power of the Hawiian shirt to pull one of the realities close enough to put both of you into it. In this one, Robbie is in a wheelchair, he is bald. Jourdan, Steve, Scott and the rest of your friends look completely different but they are with him. They are on the Santa Cruise beach boardwalk, having fun. Again another reality. A group of friends in the military, another reality, A group of friends shooting a movie together, Mike is directing, but they are all there, another, everyone sitting on a beach. In a hotel room. Playing frisby. In each one, there are different combinations of people, different looks, different situations. But they are all the same. Friendships and hardships. Mike shakes ahead of you. He tries to hold onto himself as the wind howls all around "Mike!" You scream to him. "Mike! The differences! The Struggles! It's who we are! It's what brings us together Mike! Together we can stop this Mike!" You reach your hand out to him.
You stand on one of the large patio's at the Mormon temple in Oakland. Before it was destroyed. Before Mike turned evil, before everything. You see yourself, younger, and you see everyone else. You're bidding Mike goodbye before leaving after your first adventure. You smile, those were good times. The setting sun frames the scene nicely. You see Mike turn after the group leaves, the landscape melts around him to the background of what looks to be the large meeting hall of the Elders. Mike walks inside. "Don't you see what I've done?! I've figured out the reality drive in the Buick, I've brought back Nicole!" The lead elder stands abruptly in anger. "Mike you cannot wield life and death like this! It is not how life is supposed to flow!" "LIES OLD MAN. I can move into realities where good people never turned evil, where power never corrupted. If given the right tools, I can reshape, I can re-edit and direct all of the realities into one, one perfect story. No pain, no suffering, no loss." Mike pleaded. "But what of the creations of this pain, the brotherhoods forged in the face of trial? What of the people you deem not good enough, the dreams, the outcomes never given a chance?" "They mean nothing, if they were to be replaced by how they should be! We could all be with those we treasure, we could all belong. Those who should never have died, won't have too. I can take them from another reality and add them like they should have always been." "It is too much power for one man alone, it is not how we were intended to be! Without the trials and suffering of life, how would we ever know it's pleasures, how can you treasure something when you never know what it is to not have it!" "You FEAR ME." "No Michael, I do not, but until you can understand this, you are ordered to return Nicole, and whatever else you have misplaced" Michael stood from his chair, anger pulsing through him. "No.." "The elders have chosen, if you wish to be one of us, to protect all, you must choose to do the right thing no matter how much it hurts, no matter what else is possible." Mike stood bent over the long table arms outstretched, holding him above the table. His head falling low. He said nothing, turned and walked past you, no one noticed you standing in the room. No one else could see the tears on Michael's face. As Mike walked past you, the location melted again.
Now, it seemed as if Mike was in the lower hanger of some large base, perhaps Mormon, or perhaps the early stages of the Gabok or SPOT. Nicole sat on a large engine piece waiting to be installed somewhere. Mike walked up to her. He spoke quickly. "The Gabok and SPOT are finished, the elders, they have caught on Nicole. They know you exist, they know about everything." "Michael. Our plan, the Hawaiian shirts were always made to save humanity. If we can rewrite reality how it should be, where we can all be friends again, where we never split apart, never were forced away by responsibility, Isn't it worth it?" Mike looked up at her, unsure of himself. "Yes?" "Yes." You heard his voice repeat, only not from the Mike in the story you were watching. No, but from behind you. It was the Mike you were just fighting a second ago. He noticed you but he did nothing, still watching. You did it as well. Back to the story in front of you. Mike steadied himself. "I have forged an alliance with the Canadians and the fallen Mormon Ninjas. I've tried my best to create the clones of Norman. If we strike quickly, we can remove the elder leadership of the Mormons. With all of their people gathered on the SPOT, they wont possibly be able to notice us take Margaritaville. Once we take over the crossroads of reality, all we must do is combine the Hawiian shirt power of past, present, and future. That is the key to full control. With the full power, I can merge all reality into one, and with it create a perfect world." "And destroy all that ever could have been." You say to the Mike next to you. He looks at you but says nothing.
The world morphs again, this time Mike is in the Gabok. Nolan, almost awake. Nicole stands beside him. The Ninja Stephen talking to him over the radio. "I have the girl" Mike turned toward Nicole "The future power of the Hawaiian Shirt, All that is left is to activate it." "Mike have you seen what Steve and his friends have done?" "Yes I" "No I couldn't see it" The Mike next to you said to himself as the other one still spoke. "Yes, the bonds they have forged in spite of all we have done is amazing." "What will happen to them Michael?" "As they are now? Well that will change, they may not even know each other afterwards, whatever would be best" Nicole looked surprised, "But Mike, what about us, will we still know them, what of all the times we've all shared? What of those?" "They will be lost, but for the greater good, I will create better ones. How they should have been" Silence, Nicole turned away from Mike. The Mike next to you spoke, "I never noticed that she cried" Nicole spoke again. "Mike What if I What if they don't want to lose those memories, or the friendships they have now, even if they aren't wern't perfect?" The Mike in the story turned to her. "What of it? They may enjoy it now, but after it is over, it won't last! It will change! They will move back into how their lives should be and there will be distance! There will be pain, and loneliness because those times were fleeting, but what if I can change that, put people in the right places, that way, no one leaves, everyone stays together how they should be. There is no loss." "But you never meet anyone new, Mike." You say. "You never meet people who would be willing to sacrifice for you, you never meet people to form new bonds you can't live without. Mike." The landscape and story faded back to white again. Only you and Mike stand in front of each other. Behind Mike, a door is left open. The wind blows from behind you towards the door. Moving pictures float past you in the white, they follow the wind into the door and disappear. "Mike? What is this?" You yell over the wind which is getting stronger. "The end of everything, Steve." Mike says. "Did you create that story I just watched?" "I only recalled it Steve. That is how things came to be, and that is how they will come to end." He yelled back over the wind. You brace yourself a bit as the wind is pushing harder. "You?! These pictures? Are they different realities, possibilities?" "Yes" "And the door are you moving them into the door? Why?" "They are ending Steve, or rather becoming ready to re-begin" "Mike!" You yell "Mike how can you destroy everything we have built." Instinctively you use the power of the Hawiian shirt to pull one of the realities close enough to put both of you into it. In this one, Robbie is in a wheelchair, he is bald. Jourdan, Steve, Scott and the rest of your friends look completely different but they are with him. They are on the Santa Cruise beach boardwalk, having fun. Again another reality. A group of friends in the military, another reality, A group of friends shooting a movie together, Mike is directing, but they are all there, another, everyone sitting on a beach. In a hotel room. Playing frisby. In each one, there are different combinations of people, different looks, different situations. But they are all the same. Friendships and hardships. Mike shakes ahead of you. He tries to hold onto himself as the wind howls all around "Mike!" You scream to him. "Mike! The differences! The Struggles! It's who we are! It's what brings us together Mike! Together we can stop this Mike!" You reach your hand out to him.