You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
...........
................
:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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phase i
But they have to keep going.]
I'll stick with you for now.
[And I'll try not to be a burden, is what she thinks to herself.]
We'll have to keep on the lookout for monsters.
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Stick around as long as you like. [ He takes the first steps down, cautious over all. He doesn't want to fall further into the pits of this hell. ]
Just scream if you see anything.
[ Because that won't alert everything that they're there, nope. ]
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[Ai is... Floating a few inches above ground when needed. It doesn't take that much energy from her as she follows Merlin.]
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What kind of signal? If I'm in front I'm not going to be able to see that easily.
[ Though it's probably good he's walking ahead of her, because floating girl definitely wouldn't be all that expected right now. ]
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[That's her assessment anyways; they've only really just briefly met and chatted with each other before this whole mess began anyways and he doesn't know all that much about her and vice versa.]
I can generate electricity! It's pretty bright so you can see and hear some of it.
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Something li-- [ Only what? ] Isn't that just as bad as yelling?
[ He's surprised she can do something like that too, really. Especially when electricity is still a bit of a mystery to him--unless you count lightning in that, of course. ]
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[look merlin it works okay!]
But yes, I have a variety of skills. You can count on me if the going gets real tough.
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[ That sounds a little rude, so he adds on: ] I mean you seem too nice for something like that.
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I... I guess I can't argue about that.
[Ai is very aware that with the way she always presents herself and acts around others, no one really thinks of her as being able to hurt a fly.]
But, um, I can't always be nice!
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There's a surprise. [ He laughs this time, just slightly as he reaches back to gently press a finger in the middle of her forehead. ]
You haven't given that impression so far.
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I'm not... I'm not good at first impressions admittedly.
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[ Of course that's when his footing goes, the ground giving way to the muddy path below. He yells out as he falls, head lifting to glare at the ball of light that hovers in front of him. Rude. ]
Thanks for the warning. [ He's speaking to it, not her... yeah. ]
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[Ai rushes over and looks down at Merlin.]
Do you need me to lift you out?! Or... Or is there a path that we should continue on down there?
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[ He pushes himself up, shakes his head to gather himself. ]
I think this is the only other option we have though. Can you get down alright?
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[Yup, gonna float down slowly and gently. Slow and steady does it! Anyways, when she reaches Merlin, she lands on the ground and offers him a hand.]
You're absolutely sure you're not too hurt?
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And how long have you been able to do that?! [ Ai please... ] I'm fine.
[ He takes the offered hand, letting go once he's up. ] It's mostly... mud anyway, I think.
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I-I... There's a few things I know how to do...
Oh, mud? Well, could be worse then!
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A few. [ He looks her up and down, mostly at her feet now he can see, but the light behind them is getting impatient as a slow clattering of noises start to grow. ]
Though... you're probably right. I wouldn't say something like that just yet if I were you. We have no idea what's down there.
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[What will she think of next? Anyways, those noises are a point of concern and Ai shivers slightly.]
And you're right. We should at least keep moving.
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[ The shiver is a little worrying, though he can understand that it's probably colder down here than up there. ]
Keep close. Hopefully there isn't too far to go now.
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[A beat.]
Also, electricity and water... I'd be okay, but you? I wouldn't risk it with me nearby...
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[ Not going in, that is. ]
And I don't die that easily, try to not think about it.
[ No really... he tried to put out a microwave fire with water and lives to tell the tale... but that is partly thanks to Rapunzel's healing. Didn't kill him though, at least. ]
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[Magic is weird! In any case, she starts off in a direction away from the water for the time being.]
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[ Because that helps?! He follows though, tredging along the mud with a wince. This is just as disgusting as the swamp level he arrived in. CERE, Why? ]
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Well... If you do get hurt, I can also heal. So no need to worry about scars or broken bones.
... I can't do anything if one of us loses a limb though.
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