#she's an avatar. stuff's gonna be red and computery

[duckapus]

In the end, she returns to the staff, pulling it down and feeling its weight in her grasp...for a few seconds, before it disappears in a burst of what seems to be red pixels and binary.

"What the-"

Your path is set. Now, what will you give up in exchange?

Well then. She supposes that makes as much sense as anything else here has. After some consideration, she goes to the sword. Assuming any of this actually ends up mattering (and something bone-deep tells her it probably will) she doesn't feel comfortable with the risks involved in being a glass cannon.

You give up this power?

"...Yes."

The sword disappears from her hands just like the staff before it, and the shield, still on its pedestal, vanishes as well.

You've chosen the power of the Mystic. You've given up the power of the Warrior. Is this the form you choose?

"Yes."

With a rumble, the pedestals sink unevenly back into the platform, and when they vanish entirely from view the floor begins to shatter, the wave of destruction moving inwards.

"Oh shit." despite knowing there's no escape, Tulip retreats to the center on instinct, delaying the inevitable by only a moment before falling into the dark once more...

Deep Drive, Station 1

Falling

Falling

Falling ever deeper into the darkness

Scattered fragments of Memory race by

The only source of light

Despite the fall and the Nothing

The girl finds herself landing gently on her feet

A thousand white doves fly away

Revealing a glowing mosaic at the top of a dark pillar...

And Tulip feels herself Awaken. She looks down and realizes that despite the size of the image on the strange, stained-glass floor, she can make out exactly what it is; On the outer edge is a ring with a pattern of symbols she doesn't recognize. Lounging on the ring, asleep, is the subject of the piece; herself, in the casual jacket and jeans she'd favored before the world started ending, but with her current long, wild hairstyle, rather than the old shorter straight-cut style her mother had insisted on for the sake of that stupid bun and she hadn't kicked the habit of because short hair was practical for a mechanic. No barber shops in the apocalypse, and she admittedly likes having more to play with now (when she gets the chance to at least), so...

Anyway, in the background is her parents' manor, though it seems to have gone through some renovations as it now suits her own tastes more than theirs, with her van by the front door. Around her head are a collection of six smaller circles, each with a headshot of a different person, all feeling painfully familiar even if she only truly recognizes one. There's her uncle, of course, as well as two girls who look nearly identical to herself apart from their hair color and clothes (are those seriously numbered trucker hats?). Then there's the other three, a boy with spiky black hair under a baseball cap with some kind of rabbit thing on his shoulder, a girl with pointed ears and an impossibly long ponytail, and what seems to be a retro-sci-fi astronaut with a big nose and squinty eyes.

As interesting as the image is, the platform itself is completely empty apart from herself, and she doesn't see any way off apart from leaping into the abyss below, and no matter what her life's been like ever since the Twilight came she's not that desperate.

After a moment, she walks towards the center of the platform, which somehow causes three marble pedestals to rise up around her.

Power sleeps within you...

"Wha..? Who's there?"

She receives no answer. Instead, three objects appear, each floating just above one of the pedestals.

If you give it form...it will give you strength.

Choose wisely.

Not seeing any alternatives, she walks up to one of the pedestals, where a sword waits

The power of the Warrior. Invincible Strength. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?

Well. As cool as having a sword would be, there's a strange tension in the air that tells Tulip she should probably go over all her options first. She moves on to what looks like a magic wand with angry googly eyes

The power of the Mystic. Inner Strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek?

"Well, that's not ominous..." She moves to the final choice, a shield

The power of the Guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?

She returns to the center of the platform, looking between the three paths before her.