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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................
:)
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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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still OTA
[The explosion gave him enough time to sit up, grab his hoodie and his gunblade and then--and then nothing. He's pulled fast and far and down into the dark he goes alone with a yell.
This is familiar to him in a way. It's a lot like the inside of the tower as he and Korra approached the area with the Bridge's holding cell. So he's care as he chooses to head down. The deeper parts must have answers.
…the platform gives. Maybe you're with him as he's walking but down they go. He can't see anything and he keeps the weapon held close. It's now that he wishes Baymax were with him.
He follows the sound of the water and hisses at how cold it is. That hiss turns into a yelp when something bites down hard. There's the sound of gun shots echoing in the dark and Hiro screaming.
Later you might find him down at the altar, examining it as closely as he can in the dark.]
…this sorta looks weirdly familiar. [Like something he'd seen in the mountains. How about that.]
Phase III
[There's nothing horrific about walking into the building that doesn't appear damaged at all, right? Supplies. People. Anything. He's moving and scouting but it's hard when he's sort of favoring one foot over the other. He thinks he hears something though and he looks up, and it doesn't take long before he darts into the building to escape. The mirrors don't interest him at all and there's a frustrated noise as he goes to leave, sidestepping glass as he goes.
That's before he hears his own voice though. "It's over, Krei."
He knows what this is. He knows and he turns to try and barge his way out of the building, glass crunching under his feet in his haste and crashing right into someone else. And he freezes until he hears the sounds of Baymax blasting off and he looks back, noticing that the memory's now gone.]
…this isn't…["What it looks like"? How can he get out of this one?]
Wildcard
[Anything else from the other phases, other scenarios, etc]
"chat noir"
[He can't help but roll his eyes at the response, though he's clearly checking out the baton. He doesn't say anything for a moment, following Chat even as he closely watches what he's taking photos of before delivering a sage nod of understanding.]
Yeah. Tell me about it. I've been doing upgrades for myself, too, for that reason. [He tilts his head, folding his arms over his chest as he appraises Chat once more.]
...pretty appropriate name, Chat. Hiro Hamada. ...there're some other Hiros here. [He rubs the back of his neck nervously even if he's eyeing that baton.] Pretty interesting piece of tech you've got though.
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yeah. his baton might not be the only pretty interesting thing around here, and chat's not making his inquisition on the matter a secret. half his mask raised, like he's got an eyebrow up--and he's coming a little closer to do a bit of appraising of his own.
that doesn't last very long before he's back to a smile, outstretching his hand with the baton towards the boy. not quite giving it to him yet, as he says this: ]
Thanks! I'll let you tinker with it, if you want. [ a press of a button, and that baton's expanding to staff length. chat's smile turns into more of a grin, until he's back to looking inquisitive. ] But actually, I'm curious about those upgrades of yours myself. You sure don't look like a cyborg--
[ haha he's just kidding
but you know what if that's the turn this convo takes he's not surprised at this point. he's just getting that he might not be the only one with an appropriate name here. ]
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rei
Right. Sorry. [He looks a little sorry at least.] It just brings on my next question of what they would need it for.
...think the ghosts ever saw any of this happen?
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yang
Now why can't you teach me that instead of how to throw punches? [It's just something else admirable about Yang honestly.] Ruby sort of told me about your dad. And Qrow and stuff. So…maybe it makes a little more sense.
[There's a short pause.] …I'm sorry you had to see that anyway. And my thing, too.
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nice
[…that…was not the reaction he had expected but it's enough to get him to snap out of his funk as he stares incredulously at Nice for a few moments.]
There's a ton of freaky mirrors showing off things that shouldn't be seen and that's what you're worried about? [He looks down at the glass.] Then again getting trampled on this kind of floor probably wouldn't end well anyway.
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milla
[There's really nothing in his expression other than the kind of openness a child can still pull off. He's curious, not entirely willing to pry but also genuinely sort of concerned. That's…the kind of knowledge that could destroy someone from the inside out if they let it.
Granted Milla's always been someone who's fairly no-nonsense no-emotions and sort of awkwardly blunt.
On the other hand, he dips his head a bit when she speaks again. It's surprising to hear her say such a thing. Nice, but surprising, and he lifts his lips up into a half-smile in response.]
Somehow I figured. [He would never ask her for fake sympathy of any kind anyway.] It's sort of the same way I know that you won't use it to pity me either. [He's not sure if he should continue either…but he does just to be safe.] As you can probably guess? He's not one of those two. [Tadashi still knows nothing. And it's much better that way until the hit of the Hamadapocalypse.]
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naoki
[The silence is uneasy for him. That might have worked if he'd said it to Ruby or Yang, but Naoki's still sort of a mystery in that sense. He's doing his best to keep his sigh of relief under his breath when he concedes.]
Hey, that's not really my fault. [The grin is more genuine this time as he gestures for Naoki to follow him. Off into the dark damp darkness we go…] I kinda work better on the fly anyway. We can make up some cool stuff as we go. …and I'm not going to get us over our heads. This place is way too unpredictable for that.
[Look at that. A real hint of maturity.] Thing is finding out why this happened this time. I know why we wound up in the jungle but I don't think the cause is the same.
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usagi
[There's a sound of agreement. Yeah. He knows. He'd prefer it to be less invasive, too, but he knows that's not how Cerealia works. He keeps a hold of her hand as they begin to walk, only letting go when they're out of that room and in the main portion of the house and he's sure she can follow on her own accord. He's still here, Usagi. He's not going to leave. Even if he's no longer holding her hand he's sticking close and carefully stepping through the hallway.]
They've done some pretty messed up stuff to us, but nothing like this. At least not to my knowledge anyway…you think maybe this is something left over from that circus? A really messed up house of mirrors sort of sounds perfect for the aliens.
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dipper
What makes you think CERES isn't a part of it? This is still just outside of their colony, isn't it? [Maybe? Hell if he knows where they really actually are.] The shack in the mountains was really far from Cerealia.
[…then again.] But even sacrificing people seems a little counterproductive for CERES. If they're supposed to just be feeding off of our energy and emotions and all that, what good would we be doing for them if we're dead? [Hiro, please be less blunt.]
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rapunzel
…[He cants his head to the side like he's unsure if he heard her right, a nervous laugh bubbling up and out of his mouth suddenly.]
I know it probably needs a bandage or something but what're we gonna use? Your pajamas are kinda…[Really sort of short and Rapunzel this is awkward.] And your hair's…hair. [But they're pretty stuck down here anyway. What's the worst that could happen? She tries, finds something poisonous or something to wrap his foot in, he gets really sick.
No wait that's a horrible scenario.]
…is this going to take long? [He says, even as he's already hobbling to sit on a nearby pile of rocks near the water. You win, Rapunzel.]
my hero
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veronica
Questions I wish I had answers to. But I'm not a forensic scientist. [Maybe if he had the right gear…] Let's start checking out the rest of the altar and see if we recognize anything else. That might give us a clue, too.
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air quartet
[He's very much unhappy with everything but they can talk about it later. He shakes his head at the idea of a bigger piece of rubble (though that would have been his first guess, too, before showing Ruby his CereVice.]
Roxas says they're outside of one of the more stable buildings. Can't be too hard to find in this mess. I guess that's where he found Mary so we should move. [In which he'll just take her hand and up he goes. Let's not keep crawling around in the debris.]
You've been fighting those things by yourself, haven't you. [He wouldn't even be surprised. At least the walk to the building won't be too far. He's almost certain he sees it not too far in front of them.]
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athena
So basically what you're saying is that there's a middle layer that we suddenly just completely bypassed. [That's a more solid theory, really. His own understanding had been wrong…but then again, he wasn't around for the sealing.]
If we could get to this middle layer here, maybe we can talk to them. What if we found Rei and tried to contact the ghosts to get some more answers? They seemed to be okay with her. ["They didn't seem like they wanted to kill her."]
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tadashi
It didn't want to talk to us the first time either. [Huff. Dumb aliens…]
…I want to go back to talk to it. Maybe it'll listen to me somehow.
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inaba
If you say so. [He's not convinced.] Just…don't move, okay? [And with that he backs out of the room, heading for the way he came.
It'll be a few moments. Hopefully the mirrors behave themselves while he's away but even as he's moving he sees shapes and memories shifting in the shards leading to the path.
…
…
…
It's about ten minutes later that he comes back, a little more calm and serious as he approaches.]
Two choices. We go your way, or we go my way. At least we have an out.
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phoenix
[…oh my god Phoenix. Hiro's just…staring. You know. After he nearly jumps out of his skin and tries to play it off that he wasn't scared.]
Okay remind me to teach you how to actually use your device when we get back. Why do you even have an app that does that?! [He'll just crouch down to grab the device, scrubbing mud off of it and disabling the app. No. No more of that.]
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adelina
Pretty solid plan to me. [Especially given the way the pathway wobbles just a bit under her touch.] And if it breaks after us I can pull you up. [With that he moves, shifting to start heading up the path first.]
I never thought we'd have to deal with the whole "being pulled out of the colony without warning" thing again. We didn't even get a chance to bring Baymax with us.
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levi
[…well. That just sort of solidifies that Tadashi really thought he'd react poorly to the news. Not that he was wrong, but at the same time that's a little unsettling to him.]
I sorta made him break up with her. [Whoops.] And I know he didn't want to and he did it because of me, I already know that. So…like I said. I kinda already wrecked his life once this week. I don't know if I want to do it again for something like this.
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jaune
[...that's worrisome.] Wait what? [He shakes his head like maybe, somehow, he'll unhear that.]
Jaune, what did you see?
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iii; /hopes this is okay...
The visual that plays out on the mirrored walls is like nothing he's ever seen before, the strange suits and 'microbots' completely foreign to him, but the sentiments reflected on the glass are not. In fact, he knows those sentiments all too well -the loss of a loved one, the desire for revenge... and though he doesn't know what came of this, both the elated rush immediately following taking the life of another and the hollow aftermath of victory. Whoever this 'Tadashi' was, they had been important to this kid, enough that the boy was willing to kill for him. ]
He deserved it.
[ Sorry, Hiro, but he sees absolutely nothing wrong with your actions, if what just played out was real. ]
!!! yes!
he's a horrible
no he's perfect (and not entirely wrong lbr)
just don't ever take his advice, okay hiro?
ehhhh no promises
i'd say don't do anything he wouldn't do, but that doesn't leave a whole lot
listen, its just that sasuke lives a little on the dangerous side. yolo and etc
either that or he's slightly crazy
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rose
Mikleo's one of the most honest people I've met once you know how to talk to him. [They'd initially butted heads, but he's grown very fond of the seraph lately.] I can't imagine it'd be easy on him, really. People just...aren't really supposed to do that. [There's something in his face that says he knows a lot more about people coming back to life than he's letting on, but...in time. In time he'll explain. He feels it's much more important to answer her questions now that she's asked them.]
He's...told me a lot. [About what's happened to Sorey, about the Lord of Calamity, Mikleo's own death...but that's not his place to tell Rose if she doesn't know.] He's told me how seraphim are born and what Sorey does as the Shepherd and what you and Alisha did as Squires and stuff. And he told me about how Sorey can carry the seraphim everywhere...and I've seen the armatization. [A beat.] That's what happened to you and Dezel there...right? [A forced armatization.]
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edgeworth
What do you think could even really survive down here? I know there're some species of fish that can survive in the deep ocean where there's no sunlight but those are earth species. It doesn't seem like the water's deep enough to really be a habitat for anything.
[Which is absolutely why the water's rippling and there's a small splash in the distance. Totally.]
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hikari
[...of all of the weird things that've happened in Cerealia, this is up there. He had squinted at the light to get an idea, unable to really clearly see who it was until she was closer and by the time Hikari's light dims down he's already moving.]
Hikari, what are you doing down here? [Oh god why are there small children here, this isn't something she should see. Also why is she glowing. No seriously, let's check on her first.] Are you okay?
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weiss
[At least he managed to tackle her down but he's not fast enough to avoid her fist right into his face. There's a pained cry as he lets go and falls back into the water, rolling away and staggering back up to his feet. So now they're both covered in murky cavern water and still armed as he goes for another swing with the blade to try and disarm her one more time.
If that doesn't work? He has a back-up plan. It's only then that he notices one important thing.]
Hey. Wouldn't you be able to see your target better without the mask?
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