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A revival is a nasty thing, even if done right.
In this particular one, there's a tiny problem where there's... let's just say, a great part of a nation being revived, at the same time.
Loppezz is one of the first awake, and she understands about as much as when she was mostly skipping through Aj's speech on why he and he alone should be elected leader of the Jungle.
Okay, that one was at least funny. But the confusion's the same as when it settled in, especially on the part where she found herself with a sword sticking right out of her chest, glistening back at ger so she saw the reflection, pure blank expression, dumbfounded.
Then she was here.
She is here.
It's kinda hard to adjust when the void was right there a second ago, and she was so ready to forever call herself, Loppezz of the Jungle, in past tense. Oh wait, they couldn't, 'cause as they are they'd be gone then.
They laugh, breaking the dead silence, and the last part of the sound comes out bubbling and messy.
She gets a sharp turn of a head for it and a somewhat annoyed glare. That all from a very specific player standing to the side, posture perfectly straight with strain. Loppezz doesn't know if they should be happy or cry at the sight.
"Can you keep still?" A demand rings, heavy. Then Ray seems to relent and adds, softer. "Please. It's in your... nation's best interest."
Loppezz nods at him and chokes again. "You got it, J." They try to mutter. The admin doesn't seem to notice, or care.
A chain of... something close to explosions comes into motion, then, and they can't hear anything at all for a few seconds. So they just stare at the gold particles shattering that cover up the sun, but work pretty much as well. She's not sure she's not hallucinating. Honestly, this might be her last moment vision before she departs merrily from the world.
Another series of explosions. Loppezz somehow knows it's not at all TNT.
They tilts their eyes to the right and feel sick.
Nah, it's just the motion that does it well. She can't bring herself to care about the bodies.
To the left, there's an overload of flashes and gold, and that's where the booming's coming from, and where Ray's at. Was, back two seconds before, when Loppezz could see anything in there.
There's a twitch.
Their eyes dart back to the right, but she can't move her muscles well enough to push off, away, the sticky skin that clutches at her fur.
The last wave of explosions comes to its end, and between the ringing in their ears and the silence that's back for a moment, as dead as ever, Loppezz hears the raspy sighs.
It's like the whole ground's trying to breathe.
A clap echoes through it, breaking up the sound but helping the illusion more than anything, echoing.
Then, Ray claps his hands a few more times, sound quieter, and he looks unnerved slightly as he stares at the field of... not bodies anymore that completely cover the ground.
"Get up." He commands, cold.
The mush of tangled limbs moves as one, picking apart who is who, slowly coming back to the senses of their bodies. Shivers run down Loppezz's back with the feeling, when she can clearly distinguish she is her, but the bits on the ground she... should inhabit are too bound up in one singular piece.
She sits up. That's a hell of an experience on its own. Then, she draws her legs closer, so very slowly, and hugs her knees, clutching the iron pieces of armor too tightly so she can feel something.
"The full experience should come back in a few hours." Ray drops into the crowd. "For now, just listen. Everyone."
He floats in the air under a few dozen empty eyes and lands behind the podium desk right on the stage. That's where the election was happening. Where Aj was, with his sort of a speech... Where he was, and it's not 'cause he died but because of Ray pushing the half-conscious figure clinging to the stand away, for him to slip down the single stair and land in the grass, and for Ray to take the place.
The rows of seats in front of the stage are slightly splintered, but overall untouched by whatever gold shining Ray was spouting everywhere. And that one's gone completely, too. Loppezz guesses distantly that had to do with the revival. Post-effects, maybe. Or Ray just wanted to be flashy.
Ray taps, too harshly, on the desk's surface. Then he raises his head.
"To be short and concise. And for you all's moronic, not apparently ever working brains to understand..." He clicks his teeth and breathes in, then out. It's almost soundless, but nobody moves a bit, so Loppezz catches it easily.
"You were all killed by just a few rebels, who wanted the Crown for themselves but were sure they wouldn't win the election." Ray announces chilly. "For all I know, you were so entranced by the presentation AJTheBold was giving, you never even noticed. Five people, for the love of..."
Loppezz distinctly hears nails screeching on wood, and their ears twitch uncomfortably.
This is the first time they've seen Ray out of it, and it's been a fair few weeks since the world went up. They don't have it in them to be scared, though. Not even slightly intimidated. They're just numb.
Almost like they got sliced up and then instantly revived by wonky admin powers.
Well, who would've thought.
"Luckily, one of yours stepped in and fought the rebels. Thank you, Erkku." Ray wheezes uncomfortably. "I almost took him for one of them with how efficiently he cut them to pieces. Just the way they did everybody else."
A lone figure waves their sword from the side, short and concise.
"To be honest, I'd suggest... Whatever. I can't intervene... I very much shouldn't have already, but a nation falling this early in, it's... unthinkable. You are all revived now, you're welcome. Never repeat this mistake again. Next time, a massacre of the Jungle will be known as one that took all your lives, permanently. Not for a few minutes before I notice the messages popping up in chat every other second."
He slams his palms on the table one last time. "That is all. Feel free to finish up your elections, just don't forget to call for me when you're done. And only then. I'm only coming back for the third time when it's all over."
Loppezz snorts and nearly misses the second Ray blinks out of existence with a bunch of purple particles left behind.
Aj, with great effort, settles on the stairs of the podium, up from the grass, and raises his head.
"So, guys?" He rasps. "Let's continue?"