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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no subject
adolf.
[a bit obvious, but it's made to be an option. something the man can expand upon or simply agree with if he so chooses. of course Chrollo wants to know, but he's already committed to pressing less with the glimpses into the past he'd seen.]
And that you also don't need the warning about the mechanical beasts.
yu.
(hypocritical for a thief? perhaps.)
his shirt is last before he wades into the water, frowning slightly at the temperature. really too cold for this, but he's already begun. when it gets deep enough, he takes a deep breath and dives. the temperature wants to take the breath from his lungs, but he'll push past it and keep swimming downwards.
nearer the surface, there's movement in the water. something's awake.]
no subject
Ah.
He's moving before he even realizes it, rocking forward into a kneeling position and staring out at the ripple of moment with narrowed eyes. Can he swim? Sure. But if he dives in, he'll be at a disadvantage against something naturally aquatic. Plus, he knows his elemental match ups. Saturnus won't be much good against anything coming out of there. But if he gives up Saturnus, he gives up his light source.
Yu holds his position by the water's edge, taking Chrollo's things and moving them carefully away from the water, waiting. If the other man doesn't return soon, he won't have much choice but to try and go in after him. ]
no subject
but there is something there. the creeping sense of danger that was universal to any human grabs him, and he knows - calm. be calm. he has to be calm when he lets his aura surround him and flow outwards, otherwise he'll suffer for it. by his guess, he has a very short amount of time left, a handful of seconds, but...there. En told him what he needed to know as he snapped it back.
(on the surface, there's more movement, same steady pace.)
even less time as he decides he has no choice and knows exactly which ability to use. all he can hope is that it's just as effective underwater as it is on land. he has to be fast, and as whatever the shape is that he sensed lunges, he sends out the vines of the Thorns. latch onto, find the neck and limbs, and twist so hard that bones would snap. if it's not going to be enough to kill, it should deter long enough that he can surface, dismissing the ability before the stranger can see it, hauling himself out of the water so that he has enough room to breathe.
Chrollo doesn't look at Yu as he stumbles out of the water, breathing hard to catch back up, the strange object still held tightly in his left hand as he sits down at the water's edge. something warm's on his right arm, he can tell - blood from a deep slash from his calculating just a touch too slow to avoid all injury, but he'll heal, he knows. as long as the arm's still attached, and that thing decides to stay away and nurse its injuries rather than striking out for revenge.
in the light from the fiery being, he can try and make out what the object was. an unfamiliar design, but unmistakably a mask.]
no subject
He sees that mask, too, but right now, the injury takes precedence for him. ]
If you don't mind a little less light, I can heal that for you.
no subject
[the way Chrollo says it, he doesn't doubt Yu's ability, he only doesn't want to be too much of an inconvenience. if he wanted light, then Chrollo could endure, if he's going to be kind enough to heal...only a fool would turn that down.
(how, he wants to know. what does he mean? was it something worth looking into? was this person someone that he should add to the names he was keeping watch on? questions upon questions, and he hadn't even fully caught his breath.]
no subject
[ Yu banishes Saturnus, swiping a hand in midair in front of him, creating a crackle of blue light. The area plunges into darkness, though it's not pitch black by any means - just very dim. It will take some time for their eyes to adjust. In the meantime, Yu summons Isis instead.
He doesn't have to say anything - all it takes is a mental command, and Isis lifts her feather-covered arms. A Mediarahan settles over Yu and Chrollo both. The powerful healing spell will be enough to completely heal the gash on Chrollo's arm, stitching it up and sealing the skin as if it had never been broken at all.
From the darkness, Yu will murmur: ]
Better?