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bravenewworld2014-10-25 12:07 am
bravenewmods) wrote in bravenewworld2014-10-25 12:07 am
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The Labyrinth of the New Moon
Most of Union was familiar now with the second world that had so abruptly inserted itself into their lives. They called it the Dream World: a place where fiction became more real than reality and where the imagination knew no bounds. If it weren't quite so intrusive, some might even find it an amusing place to visit - there were secrets to be uncovered here, surely, where the mental barriers of friends and enemies were relaxed, and powers to be taken advantage of. Who wouldn't want to host a pool party every night?
For a week, the people of Union continue to pop in and out of the Dream World until most have grown tired of the seemingly random nature of the disappearances. Low mutterings and disgruntled complaints begin to spread throughout the city, but it seems as if no one truly knows how to stop it. Giant fans to disperse the fog are suggested facetiously once, and a number of Fan Rotoms are seen working hard the next day... But such efforts amount to nothing.
On the night of the seventh day, something changes.
Those who pop into the Dream World tonight will realize immediately - the landscape has changed. Dream mists still swirl and eddy at random intervals, but the Neutral Spaces have grown dark and shadowed. There's no ominous feeling of danger, but rather... alertness. The sense that something unusual is about to happen.
Up in the sky, a shadowed moon gleams with a faint luster. A new moon. ...This is impossible, of course, but then, many things are impossible in this world. And no matter where you head, it seems as if each step takes you closer to that black moon, a gaping maw in the twilit sky... Step forward, retreat backwards, close your eyes and flee. It matters not. One more step and it has devoured you whole.
There is the sensation of falling, of spinning, of coming to an abrupt halt without feeling an impact. But when you open your eyes, you are not alone. Two or three others you may recognize are with you, and a long corridor stretches out before your group with doors dotting each side as far as the eye can see.
Welcome to the Labyrinth of the New Moon.
[OOC: All plot logs for people in the Dream World will occur here. Please make the first post with all the names of the people in your group in the subject line so people know where to post. Mod responses will come about once every 24 hours as long as at least one person has posted.
The group listings are here. We will not be running randomizers anymore, but you may still sign up with a full group of at least three if you can find one and tag in. Keep in mind though that the log may not be finished depending on when it is posted. You may also hop in an existing group as long as all existing group members give permission and the group is not full.]
For a week, the people of Union continue to pop in and out of the Dream World until most have grown tired of the seemingly random nature of the disappearances. Low mutterings and disgruntled complaints begin to spread throughout the city, but it seems as if no one truly knows how to stop it. Giant fans to disperse the fog are suggested facetiously once, and a number of Fan Rotoms are seen working hard the next day... But such efforts amount to nothing.
On the night of the seventh day, something changes.
Those who pop into the Dream World tonight will realize immediately - the landscape has changed. Dream mists still swirl and eddy at random intervals, but the Neutral Spaces have grown dark and shadowed. There's no ominous feeling of danger, but rather... alertness. The sense that something unusual is about to happen.
Up in the sky, a shadowed moon gleams with a faint luster. A new moon. ...This is impossible, of course, but then, many things are impossible in this world. And no matter where you head, it seems as if each step takes you closer to that black moon, a gaping maw in the twilit sky... Step forward, retreat backwards, close your eyes and flee. It matters not. One more step and it has devoured you whole.
There is the sensation of falling, of spinning, of coming to an abrupt halt without feeling an impact. But when you open your eyes, you are not alone. Two or three others you may recognize are with you, and a long corridor stretches out before your group with doors dotting each side as far as the eye can see.
Welcome to the Labyrinth of the New Moon.
[OOC: All plot logs for people in the Dream World will occur here. Please make the first post with all the names of the people in your group in the subject line so people know where to post. Mod responses will come about once every 24 hours as long as at least one person has posted.
The group listings are here. We will not be running randomizers anymore, but you may still sign up with a full group of at least three if you can find one and tag in. Keep in mind though that the log may not be finished depending on when it is posted. You may also hop in an existing group as long as all existing group members give permission and the group is not full.]
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They are in a barren area, but as Fei and Elly retreat, their feet will cross some invisible threshold - and they will find themselves back on stage.
A loud buzzer sounds as a big red X flashes in mid-air.]
FAILURE.
[A mechanical voice intones. Merrill's desired map is pulled taut and torn before each piece spontaneously combusts. Top Haunter reappears shaking its head. ...Well, it's all head, anyway.]
Too bad, too bad!
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[Haunter will float by and give Merrill a not-very-sympathetic pat on the head before removing a handkerchief from its top hat and passing it over.]
I'll let you in on a little secret - no one's ever won the grand prize long as I've been running the show.
[...And then, without any conscious warning, there is a sudden, strange distortion. The scene seems to become grainy, the color saps out of the lively recording studio, and the flow of time seems to... twitch. Everything is just a half millisecond off. It appears as if the Haunter continues to speak, but the voice that intones now seems to belong to something else altogether.]
But how easy it is to fall victim to what lies within the heart. Those who are driven by fears and nightmares, blind hopes and wishes have never fared well in this realm. Those who are not... they are few and far between.
Humans... how much have you really changed? Can you create your own reality... here as well as anywhere else?
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[Yes, Merrill, that is the entire point of this. But at least she's standing back up and focusing again.]
Who...? Who's there?
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[Beyond the Haunter, two Gothic doors will appear out of thin air.]
The left will take you further into the nightmares if you wish to know the answer to your question... the right will return to your homes.
Do as you please.
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So are you the boogeymon, then? I'm not afraid of you. Things that go bump in the night don't scare me at all.
[Perceiving no immediate threat, she stands. Power still radiates around her palm, but it calms slightly as she lowers her hand; ready to conjure at a moment's notice, but not immediately taxing.]
Fei, go ahead and take Merrill back. I'm going in further.
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[...A dry laugh. There is a sense as if the entity that just asked this question isn't much interested in their personal drama. The stage, the audience, the flashing signs, and the Haunter all slowly begin to fade from view, leaving only the two doors that begin to glow lightly.]
I am doubtful that the other two would have fared any better had they been chosen.
Choose.
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Abelas, but I want to stay. I've come this far... I'm going to see this through. I need to do this.
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We're tougher than you might think.
[Her expression softens a bit when she redirects her attention to Merrill. She nods.]
It's okay. We've all got our demons, right? And you made it through, even if we didn't impress the "host". We've got your back, don't worry. We'll tackle this together, as a team.
[Walking over to the door, she grabs hold of the handle, waiting for the other two. We gotta friendship this thing, guys.]
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It's true, you know. I know it could have messed me up bad. Coming, Merrill?
[He also puts his hand to the door handle]
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Vague sights flicker and shimmer at the edge of their vision. A flash of a grotesque, green face, a glimpse of white-coated bodies soaked in red, a sudden wave of heat from the flames of burning machinery. Whispers trickle by their ears, and they can recognize their names, phrases spoken from voices dear and familiar to them or spat from the mouths of their enemies. One whispers urgently about 'overloading the enhancement process', another speaks of 'banishment' and 'sin'. The flurry of collected memories, of nightmares real and yet to be formed, clings to them briefly before scattering away.
But as quickly as those have gone, a new batch of nightmares envelops them, and nothing about these will seem familiar at all. Creatures that are unrecognizable - a great, whale-like monstrosity, shimmering with red veins, an enormous bird outlined against a pitch black sky; screams and prayers reeking of desperation and despair; flashes of red light and the cracking of whips... Each memory and each sensation comes and goes like a flash as they continue to fall through the void. It is almost unbearable...
And then their feet touch solid ground.
For an excruciatingly long time, the world remains black. Their voices, if they speak, will emerge as nothing but short gasps, sucked up by the darkness the moment the air leaves their lungs. Their eyes can discern nothing, and if they could not still feel each other, they would be hard pressed to know if they were still together at all.
But the voice speaks again.]
So you have chosen.
[There is no flash of light - this being, it is clear, has no affinity with light at all. There is a tear, instead. The blackness of the void rips open, and in the next moment, they can see and breathe and speak once more.
An immense being, its body composed of the darkness around them, hovers before them. There is a perhaps familiar sensation... The aura of fear around the rampaging monster of the Citadel has returned, though it is tempered now, into nothing more than a sensation of immense authority and reverence. No doubt it can induce fear if it so chooses... But regardless of what this creature is, regardless of its intent, it is impossible not to be awed by its presence.
It shifts slightly, and the darkness around them lightens further - above them, the black moon emerges into view.]
I am not the boogeymon.
I am the one who created the boogeymon... I was there at the beginning of time... when the first human drew closer to the fire for fear of the shadows... when the first child laid down to sleep but dared not close his eyes for fear of what he would see... when the first dream was dreamt and the first fear was felt.
Your kind once called me... Darkrai.
[When it speaks its name, the word seems to distort and expand of its own accord, echoing in their minds.]
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Ma serannas.
[Merrill bows her head to Fei and Elly in turn before they enter the door. Her eyes are wide with awe as the memories and nightmares swirl around them, taking the scene in with a sense of pure wonderment. And once they land, she simply watches and waits.
Darkrai's appearance seems to stir something in the recesses of Merrill's mind, as she brings a hand up to clutch at her head. While he is speaking, she activates her Warp Band to summon Eluvian the Spiritomb, who seems pleased as anything to see the legendary.]
Darkrai...
[Her voice is a quiet awed whisper - a strange juxtaposition when put up against the hollow laughter of her Spiritomb.]
Welcome, my lord.
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Then all at once the eternity is over, and she draws a deep, loud breath, shaking. This was what they called god?
Visibly shaken, it takes her a moment before she can speak, the confidence from earlier gone. Merrill's spiritomb certainly doesn't help matters.]
Are you the reason why people have been disappearing?
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What do you want from us?
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[Spiritomb does not receive much of an acknowledgment, though the blue glint in Darkrai's eye may gleam slightly brighter as it holds its gaze on the Pokemon.]
...I see.
[why kids love cinnamon toast crunch, presumably.]
But no.
You are not meant to be here. The boundary between worlds has grown thin. Until such time as it is repaired, this will continue - more and more of you will descend into my realm.
But so long as you do...
[Its piercing eye fixes now on Fei.]
I will see what it is humans have become.
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...If you judge us well, will you show me what we once were?
[As always, Arlathan is the first thing on her mind. If Darkrai has been around since the beginning of time, surely he must know about it, and she's not convinced those visions from earlier were accurate.]
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[It swings back around slowly to Merrill.]
'What you once were'?
And why do you believe... that is any different from what you are now? You are driven by unyielding desire.
[Fei.]
You retread the same path on which you were broken once before.
[Elly.]
You are the product of misplaced ambition and greed.
Is that not so?
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[She's starting to return to her senses a bit, the reassurance from Fei helping push that along. Absently, she touches his hand, stepping forward toward Darkrai.]
You're wrong. I left that world behind the moment I left Gigas and never looked back. I don't let their ways rule my life anymore, I live, love and fight for what I personally believe in.
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I don't know. Arlathan... it's nothing but a distant dream now. The Dalish were destroyed twice over - once by other humans, and again by Pokemon.
[She sighs, closing her eyes for a moment before continuing.]
Did we really deserve such a punishment? I don't know the answer. That's why I'm looking for them. If we don't even know what our past was, how can we ever hope to learn from it?
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