Worn down by the efforts of a few Plane residents, Tian is desperate. What should have been a mortal blow only infuriates him. Having already lost his beloved cousin and his control of the Machine, there is only one solution.

He digs his fingers into his chest and rips it open. More dark purple energy spills out of him, crawling across his skin, crackling and sending off little arcs of electricity. He opens his jaw impossibly wide and lets out a beastly roar that shakes the very foundations of the Plane. All the stars go dim and dark, leaving only the light of the fighters' auras to guide them. Tian's is wickedly dark, making him nearly invisible.

But he's getting bigger. And bigger. Whatever was inside of him swallows the human shell whole. It's massive and indescribable, far larger than anything else ever seen on the Plane. It dwarfs even the coliseum. Tendrils of dark energy spread and strangle and wrap around everything; one of the little towers in the mansion is crushed, and the bar is wrecked.

Wolfgang gazes up at the colossal horror with wide eyes. "By the goddess," he murmurs. "Tian was the corruption. All along." Was he trying to spread the sickness to every world on the Plane? Or was he trying to kill himself through the Machine in order to stop it, and save everyone on the old world?

It's hard to tell and not very relevant right now. What Wolfgang knows-- what everyone knows now-- is that this creature of pure death and darkness is seeping in and infecting everything. Threatening the Plane and all that's connected to it. And the longer they stand here and stare, the less chance there is of defeating it.

Wolf glances toward the group. His heart leaps in an awful way, but he smiles past it, his eyes crinkling at the edges. "Tell Menzies-- tell her I'm sorry."

He runs toward Tian, now a black mass of pure nightmares, and disappears within. Just... gone. Just like that. What happens next is difficult to discern, but the stars flicker back to life, and the sound of gears grinding beneath the Plane's floor becomes deafening. Faster, faster, clank-clank-clank-poppoppoppoppop—

A blinding light sears everything, though it feels warm on one's skin. After a minute it recedes. The stars and galaxies blaze in the sky and floor once more. Tian and whatever he unleashed have disappeared.

Wolf's sword clatters to the ground. Shaman pops into existence as enigmatically as ever. Her dark toes peek out from beneath her robes as she smiles at everyone. "The Machine granted his wish, and the worlds are free." She looks down at the sword. "Everything is finally as it should be. You can go home or visit each other; there will be no more experiments ever.

"Wolfie will live on even if it's only in song. A new god, he is risen to the stars above." She points to a red star, fiery and flickering, with a smaller blue light orbiting it. "He protects his world with love. The cousins with horns left to rebuild, for Wolfie's and theirs is a damaged world. And I? I will leave you alone as I wander-- a chance to see all, I won't squander it.

"You are free. You are free! Live your lives, bond with each other, kiss your lover or hug your mother. This universe is now a place of dreams, so, welcome!

Welcome to the Machine."

[ooc: Shaman is now gone, and all NPCs are too. The shop is cleared out. The game is officially a musebox. Thank you, everyone!]