Descent into Darkness

[bravenewmods]

As the characters arrive, they will find what appears to be a rather deep cavern. Upon entering, the caverns are quite narrow, with twists and turns everywhere and different tunnels that all seem to be interconnected. As characters travel deeper within the caverns, reality around them will start to warp, they will start to see and hear things that aren’t necessarily there - images of old enemies, past failures, voices of condemnation, visions that strike at the soul and core of the characters. Once this begins, it will only increase in power and volume, demanding it be confronted, lest they be trapped within these caves forever.

[OOC: This event will run for a week. All characters who enter the caves will be subject to some of their deepest fears, darkest demons, and most abject failures. To overcome them, characters must help each other out, finding their purpose through strength of character and resolve to move forward. In general, these visions should require characters to come to grips with themselves. Illusory images and voices can and will appear and can take any number of forms, depending on what is most appropriate to a character. Additionally, characters may thread with each other and are encouraged to help each other out to overcome these personal demons. For those who wish to take part, they are able and encouraged to narrate their own personal demons, which will be on display for everyone who enters their thread. IC threads may be made in this post.]

Comments

OOC Questions

[bravenewmods]

[morituri_nolumus_mori]

/raises hand

soooo, what about characters that are well aware of how much of a failure they are and already (unhappily) own up to their failures? :D

Open

[conquerorofwaves]

Sinbad breathes in slowly - finding himself pausing at the threshold of the cave - it's not danger he's feeling, but dread. That's ridiculous, he's probably just still a little jittery from those Ghost-types. Maybe his abilities are just picking up on others nerves, whatever it is - he's going in regardless.

For a good while nothing seemed to happen, but suddenly the dark natural stone was replaced by gleaming white halls - vast and empty, with claw marks of great beasts leaving deep grooves in the wall. "What...?" The young man murmurs, freezing in his tracks, recognizing the place instantly. "This can't be right."

"Ex-patriot," A voice calls out with contempt. "You are not thinking of running away now are you?" It added as a shadow appeared at the end of the unnatural hall. "Not that you are anything more then just another warm body here - but better die as a soldier then live as a coward." With that, the shadowy form vanishes, and soon after so did the strange room.

"Did you see that?!" Sinbad's eyes darted, still disbelieving as the image faded - was he hallucinating?

[rainsrespite]

Yuuna steps in immediately behind Sinbad, her Shelgon and Gabite sticking close to her legs, holding tight to the Ranger who'd been raising them since they were eggs. She herself frowns when she hears the boy speak, eyes focusing further down the tunnel. The voice was audible, as was the figure. A second shape melted away into the shadows, a dark gleam in her eyes.

"I did," Yuuna answered after a moment, squeezing the boy's shoulder a bit. She liked him, all the more after she'd worked with him on sword training, and seeing this sort of thing affecting him was pretty unnerving.

"We can leave, Sinbad. If it worries you."

open

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka is getting real sick of caves.

Specifically, she's getting real sick of caves with tenuous grips on reality. The further into this twisting maze she's gone, World Shaking just behind her and her Pidgeot flapping just ahead, the more the shadows have started to look like crumbled, broken buildings. The more she gets flashes of being somewhere else, somewhere other than here. The less her footsteps make any sound.

Eventually, as she continues straight ahead, all ambient sound vanishes - no water dripping from elsewhere in the cave, no wind wafting through the passages. Everything is still. Everything is silent.

And when she enters a larger cavern area, everything takes the form of a deserted, broken city. The passageways of the caves make way for streets, crumbled bridges, buildings that collapsed into each other. Nothing grows. Nothing lives. All is silent.

And a building she passes without even looking at it has its caved-in courtyard blocked by a worn-away sign that says U ON DIV THEAT.

Haruka's only reaction is to lift her head higher and keep on walking, teeth clenched. ]

[pathofheaven]

[ Tendou was not pleased. All of this was far too familiar. A settlement, broken, with nobody left to even pull out of the rubble. His childhood home was nothing like Union City, with all its steel and concrete stretching into the sky, but it still resonated with him.

That screeching meteor that had turned his tribe into a crater. Everything Tendou Souji did was driven by that memory, even if he would never admit it. But that was exactly why... ]

Grandma said this: "Once you know the real thing, you won't be fooled by an imitation." I don't know what's going on with this cave, but no matter what it is still an imitation.

[ It was a dead city, yes, but it was a quiet sort of death. In reality life would always take over, growing over corpses without a single care about what used to be. ]

open

[untalented]

[He hated the darkness.

It was a primal, instinctive fear of all humans. As a species, they relied heavily on their eyesight and took comfort in certainty. Darkness robbed them of both, and left even the most unflappable of individuals wary of what was to come forth.

Waver fought to slow his breath in his unease, and steady his hands enough to invoke a facsimile of a Flash spell, to shed some light on the winding, dusty passage before him.

The mention of radio waves being emitted from these depths was what piqued his curiosity. Such an anomaly was unknown in the current scientific standards, and the curious academic in him had volunteered to join in the explorations as soon as he was able. It was only now, when his overdeveloped sense of cynicism and paranoia-- too mature for someone of his age and stature-- decided to start piling the regrets of his decision upon his narrow shoulders.

His mind was so awhirl with 'what-ifs' and other concerns regarding his personal safety that he didn't notice the familiar scent of dust as he trekked further inward. Nor did he notice how the shadows were slowly starting to shift into familiar forms. A stalagmite became a towering shelf of books. A rock became uneven stack of dusty tomes, pagemarked with ribbons by some unseen hand and promptly forgotten. The glistening sheen of water dripping down the walls became ancient atlases, and veins of different rock became akin to carefully drawn mountain ranges and forests, with their names inscribed upon the paper in unfamiliar letters and words.

Slowly the shadows and illusions grew denser, until he was somehow in a facsimile of one of the labyrinthine libraries of Sanctuary. It had to be a trick of the mind, Waver deduced, and he would have kept pushing forward if not for a particular shadow that fell upon him.

It was tall and lean, the cut of an imposing figure in a long coat, one of a lineage so long that the origins were forgotten with time. Waver froze, eyes wide, when he heard his own name echoing through the expanse.]

"Well if it isn't Waver Velvet," [The voice, a man with a rich baritone, said in a dangerously smooth and silky tone.] "Whatever is a child like you doing with my research?"

[Waver couldn't move. He couldn't speak. The silence around them was so suffocating that he couldn't hear anything more than the echoes of that Magus' voice, his ragged breathing, and the haphazard pounding of his heart deep within his chest.

Oh, gods. What had he walked in to?!]

[ofpromisedvictory]

[Saber had accompanied her erstwhile roommate with little commentary. She had barely even thought about it, truthfully, simply unwilling to let a friend unaccustomed to fighting walk into a place where there might be unknown aggressive Pokémon.]

[The depth of the darkness was unexpected, though. Even ghosts had reason to be afraid of the Dark. Saber's ears echoed with the ringing sounds of battle, and her mind seemed in a haze, trying desperately to warn her about something...]

[When this apparition appeared to Waver, however, she put it temporarily out of her mind, even if the sound of steel on steel only grew louder in her head as she prepared to fight, dropping into a ready stance and preparing to Shift.]

Hold. Who are you, and how do you know Waver?

Open

[commissionergrump]

[Foreboding. It's not a strange, unusual, or foreign word, but it's meaning tends to always be just out of reach. Not these caves, though. Even before stepping into the dark, lightsource in hand, there's something about the caves that has James only bringing in Rex, Mike, and Mac. The three Pokemon who have been with him the longest, whose lives have most thoroughly intertwined with that of his family, before he had to start making hard decisions about who could come home and who had to spend most of their time in the habitat.]

[Gordon's in full regalia today, long, Steel Type coat, wide brimmed hat pulled low over his brow. It's ridiculous with the summer sun, but as soon as he's in the damp and the dark and the murk, it is a welcome bit of insulation. When, at first, the little band is only met with silence and damp, it's almost a letdown. Soon, though, there's... not a sound, not a vision, but just a sensation. A sensation of violin string being pulled taught, silently screaming in protest.]

Commissioner.

[The voice is distant, derisive, the old nickname, first given to a driven young rookie putting in long nights, a drive to help the people of union superseding all other needs, in its original tone. He stops at the familiar voice, hesitating before turning the next labyrinthian corner, to be met with a scent of perfume and a more familiar, if younger than he's heard it in years voice.]

The children and I need you, Jim.

[The pokémon perk up at the familiar voice, more youthful energy than they're used to, but still recognizably the same. The old argument continues, but with Jim's own voice, different, minus years of the passage of time and cartons of cigarettes, but unmistakably his.]

Union needs me too, Barbara.

[windyflower]

[Meanwhile, Fuuka wasn't sure what to do. If her intuition was right, then there was something definitely off about the caves. Between the silence and the laughter that kept on echoing, it only frighten the poor girl. In fact, all she could do was breath in and out as slowly as she could to calm herself. Whatever or whoever the source of that laughter was? It clearly didn't want her here.

With her Espurr sitting right beside her shoulder, Fuuka only had one option and that was to find the exit as quick as she could. Although, before she could, she heard a voice nearby. As walked closer to the source, she didn't know if she should be happy or not to find someone else in the caves with her. However...

When Fuuka found Gordon, she didn't know if she should interrupt the conversation. In fact, she was hiding nearby. But then again, she wasn't the world's best hider was she?]

Open

[ofpromisedvictory]

[Saber had come along to help a friend, but she definitely was not counting on the deep effects of this place.]

[She had first come into awareness in a tomb. That tomb had been her home. There was nothing to be afraid of here, except...]

[The tomb was calm. Dead, until humans re-awoke it. Nothing moved there. There were no sounds of battle, no heat of conflict, no taste of blood in Saber's mouth like there was now. Did she even bleed? What was she?]

[That question came to the forefront of Saber's mind for the first time since she reached Union, and she paused in shock as the question itself caused a panoramic image to open in front of her.]

[It was a battlefield. Not during the battle, but after. Humans and Pokémon lay dead and dying, humans still gripping their strange weapons and Pokémon flopped down, cut to pieces, but expressions still contorted in righteous fury. In the middle of the carnage, at the top of a hill, a lone human woman seemed to be standing, leaning on a sword. Saber looked around at the scene, a single still image burned into the darkness by her mind's eye, in shock.]

What...what is this?

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna, standing on the edge of the vision, leaning against a stalagmite, didn't really know what to think. That looked like hell. A real hell. There wasn't any telling how many had fallen in that battle, but she had an idea of when that battle took place.]

This is an illusion, Saber.

Open

[victimlessdetails]

So you still haven't told them?

[Isabela is walking through the caves, trying desperately to ignore the phantasms around her and remember both the way out and why in the Land God's flaming ass she had come here in the first place. She's currently being bothered by a middle-aged woman who looks a bit like Isabela would if she wore decent clothes and put on about ten years.]

I think they've a right to know about you.

Go away, mother.

You're lucky I'm even talking to you, you know. How many other worthless rebellious deadweights get a chance to make up with their parents?

Very few who were sold into slavery, I imagine.

Marriage isn't slavery, little one.

Hell, then. And shut up, I'm trying to find my way out of here.

You never will, you know. Not while you chain yourself down. Trapped, trapped...

[Isabela clamps her jaw shut and draws a knife. She doesn't think this image is real, but could it really hurt to try?]

[rainsrespite]

[It's actually hard to hear this. It's really hard listening to it, knowing that Isabela's going through some of the same shit she went through earlier. But...]

It's not real, Bela.

[...but you were married?!]

Open

[frozenflame]

The caves were dark, full of that musty and uncomfortable smell that permeates the underground portions of the world. Yukiko, as someone so tied to the sun, never liked caves. It helped that she was easily able to call up light, sure, but the heavy stillness of a place free of breeze and untouched by the sun was not something that'd go away easily.

Stepping forward though, she balled her fists up and willed a light into being. She had to do this, she was a Seeker now, and there were people counting on her to explore and find out if those radio signals were a threat. The narrow space was troubling though, as it prevented Jiraiya and Peter from following along, severely limiting the Pokemon she was able to rely on in case of danger. In this case Tohil the newly evolved Heliolisk and Cassandra were about it, unless the cave widened.

Forward she goes, with a possible companion behind her, and as she reaches a wider opening in the cavern, she stops. A tinkling laughter, a lyrical sound edged with cruelty echos through the chamber, and something moves on the far edge of the light. A pair of golden lights burn just outside of her ball of sunshine, and Yukiko immediately takes a defensive stance. It's clumsy, amateurish, but better than she had before Mami started teaching her.

"Be careful. That could be anything..."

[windyflower]

At first, Fuuka was excited to see what the caves had in store for everyone. Ever since she heard about making possible contact, the only thing she could think of was go with whomever she could think of and just go. Of course, in hindsight, that wasn't the best idea. Perhaps this was her naive talking to her but all she could do now was to hold her breath.

Now with Yukiko in front of her, Fuuka made sure to keep her guard up. It didn't help that her Espurr was now on her shoulders and holding her head for dear life too! As she heard the laughter, she immediately took a step back and waited for what her friend would do.

"R-Right..." A pause. "But...what was that? That sounded like..." Someone who didn't want us to be here.

Open

[sparkofgenius]

Clink, Clang, Clink, Clang

Sounds reverberate in the cavern all around Lucca, the young scientist's eyes going wide as she freezes in the entrance to the chamber. Behind her, Gato and Gonzales both stop, looking to one another before bodily lifting their trainer up and moving a few steps forward so she's not blocking the entrance to what appears to be a workshop. Gears and cogs churn in the background, providing an industrial sounding rhythm to it all.

"No...put me down!" Lucca squirms and wriggles free, drawing her plasma pistol and ducking back behind the Pokemon.

"I...this...this cannot be real!"

[schmott_guy]

Gil poked his head in behind the trio. He looked ready for trouble, though it wasn't clear what the wand (For lack of a better word. It had a narrow glass bulb on the end and was about two feet long) would do if there WAS trouble here.

But despite Lucca's obvious desire to not be here, it looked like a perfectly ordinary workshop. He tried to calm her down, saying "Er, it probably isn't." in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

Open

[bornofstone]

Caves don't bother Fili, not usually, but something about this one sets his teeth on edge. He came here in the hopes of not only discovering something useful, but finding his runaway brother, who'd disappeared immediately after returning from his trip. Kili had a knack for finding trouble, so it made sense that this was where he would go, doing another incredibly stupid thing after the first. Only this time there was no Belbul to let him know what direction to even start looking.

His Pokemon companions are uneasy too. Dagny is sticking very close to his legs, slinking along beside him nervously. Even unflappable Alden is spooked, the Skiddo pressed against his opposite side. Egil the Mawile takes up the rear, unusually quiet as they proceed. Fleur and Keil stayed behind; Keil didn't like caves and Fili hadn't liked the idea of carrying an armful of crying Teddiursa.

"Fili!" Kili. Fili can tell just from the tone of his voice that he's scared and in trouble. Hair standing on end, heart pounding in his chest, he starts to run.

"Hang on, Kili, I'm coming!"

The yells continue, turning into screaming, and to Fili's horror, it seems no matter how far he gets, his brother is always just out of reach.

"Fili, why won't you help me? I need you!"

He keeps running, growing frantic, until the screams are suddenly cut off. Fili freezes in place, and Alden nudges the back of his knees gently, reminding him to keep moving. Find Kili.

There, around the next corner, is a strange shape on the ground. "Kili!" He drops to his knees to gather him up. There's blood everywhere. He isn't breathing.

"Wake up, wake up, do you hear me?!" Fili shakes him roughly, but the still-warm body of his brother does not stir. He's gone.

at some point toward the end of the week.

[darer]

Going into the tunnels once had been hellish. At least, once he knew that Kili had never even entered them (and what beautiful irony for him to have known better) he had no reason to linger. ... Not that that suddenly made it easy to make it back out.

He'd expected for Fili to be there long before him. Once again, it turned out he'd been wrong. Him immediately headeding back down should be no surprise to anyone who knew him.

"Fili?"

This time, he pays the bodies no heed. Barely flinches at the screams and accusations. The pleas. And if he screams himself hoarse.

"Fili!"

He has to find his nephew.

[rainsrespite]

Caves were something Yuuna was getting more and more used to. Weird things happened down there, she'd begun to realize, and she'd come loaded for Ursaring. Her Warp Band was filled with her five oldest, strongest Pokemon, and just to get them used to this sort of thing Kamui and Kuina were along too. The Shelgon and Gabite have split, with their trainer between them in the pinched hallways. Holding up a small flashlight, she presses ahead until eventually a strange lightheadedness hits her just as Kamui steps forward into a wider room.

And into an arena, it looks like, with unfamiliar flags and pennants flapping wildly in the breeze. A cheer erupts from the stands around her as she looks around, eyes wide in confusion.

"What the hell?!"

They grow wider still as she sees the object of adulation. A tall, muscular woman in a Ranger's jacket, with short hair, a battered old sword, and a Hitmonchan at her side. Along with five pokeballs clipped casually to her waist...

"Well look who it is."

Yuuna's fingers fly up to her mouth in sudden horror.

"No...you cannot be serious..."

[untalented]

The sudden glare from the spotlights situated deep in the cavernous underground trails that they were tasked to follow in their search for the source of the radio waves was blinding and disorienting. Waver, with his hand held up as a shield against the unnaturally brilliant lights, squinted out into the expance of the arena while he tried to make sense of the situation.

Except, none of it did.

When did a combat arena show up underground?

The dangerous looking woman in the center of the field, clearly the star of this show, set off every warning signal in his mind. He didn't need his talents to know just how powerful she was--

And then there was Yuuna.

Ranger or not, this situation did not look good.

Taking a breath to steel himself, Waver rushed over toward her.

"Yuuna," he called. "Who is this person?"

open

[flying_chains]

Morgiana stalked through the caves as the voice of a man taunted her in a mocking voice.

You'll never be free of me, Mor~gi~a~na. I spent good money to have my very own Fanalis, you know.

"You don't own me."

Oh but I do, servitor. It's all nice and legal. The chains I made will NEVER leave you.

"No chain can bind me. The chain you used is in a box under my bed, where I can check on it whenever I want, to make sure it's still broken."

That paltry thing? It was just a symbol of ownership. It was never meant to hold you. I'm talking about the chains in your heart. In your head.

At this point the voice actually had a face, as a leering man emerged from the shadows. He looked Gigan.

I can't wait for you to come back and be mine again.

"SHUT UP!"

Her temper snapping, Morgiana threw a punch at his stupid smug face. Naturally, her fist went right through the phantom, shattering a wall into a pile of fragments and shaking the whole area. The force of her punch had the whole cave groaning ominously. Fortunately there wasn't a cave-in, but it was definitely a believable outcome if she kept throwing punches like that.

Morgiana stood still, fists balled tightly, breathing heavily, and shaking slightly as she tried to calm back down. It wasn't clear if she was shaking from rage or panic. The voice laughed as it faded into the darkness once again, taunting and echoing.

[footprints_on_your_face]

[It didn't take Chie long to figure out that there was something wrong with these caves. Something deeply wrong. And she knew that Morgiana was interested in exploring them, so as time went on she found herself increasingly worried about her girlfriend. She had her own worries and fears, naturally, but for the moment she's pushing them to the back of her mind - she needs to know that Morgiana is okay.]

Morgiana!

[The sheer impact and sound of her punch is what ultimately draws Chie to Morgiana's location, running as fast as she can. At first she's worried that there might be a cave-in, but when she catches up, she sees a hole in the wall and a very shaken Morgiana. Balling up her own fists in frustration for a moment, Chie takes a deep breath and slowly walks up next to her.]

Hey...

[morituri_nolumus_mori]

"'Go on', she said. 'It'll be fun'. The next time someone tries to bring me along on an adventure, I'm gonna tell them to bugger off." Rincewind wasn't having a very good day. It started with him standing at the mouth of a cave.

He'd been there for a while, watching others pass by his reluctant self. They'd slip under the curtain of darkness without a second thought. It was unnerving how easily they did it. Especially, Rincewind had given the entrance a scrutinizing look, when the mouth of the cave could've passed as the maw of a massive creature. Lots of things, he'd reasoned, had mouths. And they didn't have to be living neither. Plenty of things, living or not living, go around and eat other, smaller things. The smaller things, in this case, and provided a morbid sense of humor, were people.

In front of the cave, Rincewind had served as a landmark of reluctance. For every person who'd gone in, he'd taken a step back. He'd almost been halfway out the clearing when ... a blur. He must have run. That's how it usually worked. He must have run right into the cave and now, who knows how much later, here was Rincewind. Here, nestled in the depths of the earth, he was hopelessly lost and, worst of all, hearing things. Rincewind could cope with crushing disappointment. He'd weathered countless side-glances of questioning disapproval. He could even handle the strange, disembodied voices tumbling out of the inky darkness. He endured what they were saying. It was all logic. Of course he was a coward. Of course he was the bottom of the barrel. Naturally, he'd had the equivalent to a negative when measuring his spelling capabilities. All of this, Rincewind could feasibly handle. What he couldn't handle was not knowing how they could needle him so remarkably well with the practiced hand of a lobotomist.

Rincewind skipped off a wall and skirted around the corner. He told himself he wouldn't respond. Hearing was one thing, but talking back meant acknowledging that he was mental. Instead, as he pounded through corridor after corridor of naturally formed tunnels, the Luggage (a nightmare in its own right) on his heels, he breathed the only primal mantra that everyone knew since the minute they'd been born.

Rincewind screamed.

[untalented]

Frozen mid-step at the bone-chilling sound of that terrified scream, Waver was briefly reminded of those terrible nights when he had gotten lost in the Towers as he tried to find his way out with his loot. It was the scream of someone who knew true horror, someone begging to be forgiven for some unknown sin and release from this treacherous prison that they had all somehow become trapped in. Equipped with an active Flash spell, Waver looked around with terrified eyes for the source of the scream.

"Who's there?" He called. There was no way he could keep his unease out of his own voice.

OPEN

[nippy]

[ so much for this being fun. Jack had started to feel claustrophobic the longer the tunnels went on, soles of his bare feet itching for open space, every inch of his skin prickling with the effort it took to keep his innate coldness reigned it before he ended up giving everyone else hypothermia. he's hardly going to turn tail and run because of a little discomfort, though. and when the voices started - indistinguishable whispers accompanied by shadows flitting across his peripheral vision - it only makes him more determined to see this through to the end.

that will only last for so long, though. ]

Jack Frost.

[ this new voice rings clear in the caves, and Jack goes unnaturally still - everything about him stops, he doesn't blink, doesn't breathe, looking for all the world like a statue. that man's voice is one he couldn't possibly forget. it's the first voice he ever heard. those are the first words he ever heard. but he's never heard that voice since, not outside of nightmares (is he just asleep? no no he can't be, but the thought sits in his mind nonetheless) and he feels torn between fear and anger, an urge to pursue and an urge to flee.

the voice goes on, different in some implacable way: ] Oh, I'm sorry - that isn't actually your name, of course. But then... you don't have a name. Not one that you know.

[ Jack shakes himself free of whatever had come over him, and he twirls his staff in his hands so that it is held out like a weapon - or a defence. there is already frost creeping along the wood, spreading across the rock under his feet. his breath leaves curls of icy mist in the air. ]

Har har. I get it, very funny. [ he paces like a cornered animal, turning sharply every time he sees a shadow. ] I know you're not him.

Do you? I don't think you know much of anything. [ Jack inhales sharply. ] How old are you, Jack? Where do you come from, Jack? Why you, Jack?

[imprudens]

[ There isn't a lot someone like Totsuka can do against this cold. He's lucky he brought a jacket, and he's doubly lucky for the pokémon accompanying him lending him a little additional warmth - a Talonflame perched on one shoulder, a Zubat laying across the other, listening. Once in a while his sneakers scrape across the rough stone floor.

There's a faint glow that accompanies him, like parts of the walls have turned to embers that are almost gone out, but no heat comes with it. ]

You know, that's pretty rude for someone to ask just like that. Someone who isn't even here, besides.

open

[incousinswithyou]

[silence is the word of the day. Crumbling buildings, scattered objects, broken toys. The heavy, oppressive atmosphere is only accentuated by how utterly silent it is.

Michiru's face is blank, as she seems to take it all in stride. The Gardevoir trailing behind her seems a bit more nervous, looking everywhere for threats to her Trainer.

Wait. Michiru comes to a sudden stop. But she came down with...] Haruka?

[where did she go?]

open

[actsmagnificent]

Hm?

[ Haruka has been focused on trying to find a way through the caves she has a hunch are still here beyond the ruined cityscape. But when her partner stops, placing Haruka a few steps ahead, she glances back over her shoulder. ] Michiru?

[ Her Pokémon pause too, World Shaking rumbling as his own head turns. Looking behind himself still gives him such a thrill. Rhyhorn can't do that. ]

open!

[imprudens]

I early on

[ Totsuka's only with two pokémon today, instead of half a menagerie that often follows him. But Kotori, the Talonflame, refused to leave, and Lady, the Zubat, is probably his best bet at being helpful in a cave.

What he didn't count on was the specific issue with these caves and tunnels. The place makes him uneasy. Totsuka steps lightly, clearly on the jumpy side. Voices drift in and out of hearing, but nothing clear enough until a shadow solidifies nearby. The shape is that of a child, a young girl in a dress or gown, but the only thing that stands out from the black of the sillhouette are her red eyes. She seems sad. ]

You know... if you stay with them, you won't live very long. Your time's almost up, Tatara.

II later

[ By now he's been down the tunnels and come back out, only to return into the dark once he realized some people were down there who needed help. This seems like the kind of thing he can do.

The voices and shadows still manifest now. There's the voice of a grown man, slurring slightly. A faint smell of liquor on the air. This one almost sobs. ]

You really are heartless, you know.

[ Totsuka sighs, and his tone is patient. Long-suffering, been there done that, but kind all the same. ]

I know, father. I know. It's okay.

[ There's a faint glow that follows him now, like dying embers in the walls, but no warmth to go along with it. ]

II

[nippy]

[ after finally overcoming his own visions (succumbing to, it feels more like) it hardly seems like the smart thing for Jack to just wander off on his own again. but he has no energy left now, not enough to even feign enthusiasm, so he trails along at Totsuka's heels, exhausted, all of his thoughts on the revelations of that damn illusion. he feels heavy with everything, he just wants to curl up alone so this will all go away.

until there are voices again, and this time, not focused on him. ]

Tatara?

[ Jack's voice is quiet, but surprised and undeniably curious. Totsuka had barely even reacted to the cave's prodding. ]

open!

[darer]

[ Noise comes and goes in waves. A cacophony of screams and the sounds of fighting all around. The pleas of the dying and the wounded. Thorin has to stop, sometimes, one hand to the wall of the tunnel, just to be sure where he is.

Swallows thickly, and continues walking. Stubbornness is the one thing that carries him now.

As time goes on, the noise subsides until all that's left is an eerie silence. At that point, he can often be found kneeling at the side of the tunnel, near what appears to be a body, or someone badly wounded. Most are human, but some are pokémon. Any words that pass between them are too quiet to hear without coming closer. ]

[windyflower]

[Fuuka didn't know what she was doing here. All she knew that was one thing lead to another and now, she found herself here. Of course, in hindsight, she should have known better than to come charging head on in hopes of trying to figure out the source of said radio waves.

Still, she didn't want to give up just yet. As she hugged herself, she was trying her best to embrace for the silence and whatever might come her way. However, as soon as she spotted someone nearby, she had to smile just a bit. At least she wasn't alone right...?

Although, that soon changed once she got a closer look. As she gave a gasp, she immediately covered her mouth before looking back at the stranger.]

....I-I'm sorry, were they...someone you knew?

[echoingmelody]

[A cave was not Xiu's first choice to go exploring in, but her curiosity got the better of her. As she descended, she began to regret that choice. Traveling alongside her was her oddly coloured Meganium, who seemed to stop every five seconds as if examining every last crevice of the tunnels.

This was one of the few times that Xiu looked like something was haunting her, and she wasn't playing her music. She was...a bit distracted. She could hear screams, crying, the sound of an enormous wave closing in. She actually jumped a bit when the voice of a woman rang out.]

Run!

[conquerorofwaves]

[Sinbad had been running himself, from both his own terrors and friends that would hurt themselves trying to help him when he stumbles onto Xiu]

You're here as well... are you all right?

open!

[wishingalone]

[After she entered the caves, Mami turned younger. Thanks to the effects of this place, though, she hasn't really noticed. Those who come into this section find that it's still dark, to be sure, and yet different. It's a forest, with tall trees and a canopy that blocks out the sun.]

[She looks fourteen, rather her current eighteen. She also isn't wearing her skirts, shirt, and hat; there's no trappings of being a Valkyrie. She has a simple homespun light yellow robe on, which is torn and nicked by brambles. Her face and hands are the same, and her hair isn't in ringlets, but fallen down.]

[Her eyes are with panicked terror, as she comes to a stop in a clearing. The forest is deeply, eerily quiet.]

Mama! Papa!

[But there's no answer. Save for others, she is quite alone.]

[punchesyu]

What the hell...

[It had been caves before, but now he finds himself in a forest. Honestly, the image of not being in a cave anymore was more than welcome to the boy from Citadel, and he breathes a sigh of relief, before realizing that this might not be as good as he thinks. It doesn't occur to him that this is an illusion. He doesn't see anyone else, not yet. Getting separated from a lot of the others was a big mistake, and now he doesn't know if he ended up outside of the cave on the other side.

Just as soon as he turns to go back inside the cave system, he catches the sight of a younger girl with a yellow robe on, eyes narrowing as he abandons going back inside to trot lightly up to her.]

Hey, you shouldn't be out here by yourself.

OTA

[aerial_ace]

"Stay close, there is no telling what we might find here."

Traveling with a small group of assorted people from Union and the surrounding areas, Cordelia had grown used to leading larger bands. The past hardly resurfaced in her mind these days, and even then it was a fleeting memory rather than a crippling handicap. The first few steps into the cavern were uneventful. But, pressing further in, her head felt faint, and the world began to fall away; she gripped her spear tightly as the lantern-light behind her flickered, then finally blew out.

To the casual observer, the redhead merely stopped, and the houndoom standing beside her growled low, ears flattened against his head. However happened to be holding the light would find it still lit.

Her world was dark, and the knight looked around wildly. "Be ready, something is coming--" She stopped, abruptly, a faint light flickering in the distance. Gently motioning them forward, Cordelia led the way, not seeming to hear any beckoning words from her comrades. Edging toward the light, she readied her warp band, prepared for the worst.

The worst, however, was not what she saw there.

Blood. Broken weapons. Death. She recognized their faces, mangled and distorted. Luke and Asch. James. Yuuna. Martin. The party she traveled with. Her eyes wide in disbelief, she looked over the scene, finally stopping on the fallen lantern light, and the person lying beside it.

He was turned away from her, silver hair caked with red and brown, a familiar sword tossed aside, left hand reaching out for a fallen, likewise stained, tome; the ring on his left hand matched her own. Her spear fell with a clatter on the ground.

"No," Cordelia's voice caught in her throat. Houndoom barked at her side, trying to get the woman's attention, but she didn't hear him, slowly, stiffly, stepping forward.

Re: OTA

[commissionergrump]

[An authoritative voice calls out, loud and clear.]

Cordelia!

[James grips Cordelia's arm as she steps forward, stopping the advance. Softer than the bark of command, he continues.]

Stay with us. Something's... off about the caves.

[Anyone who spends much time around Analysts will recognize the gears turning in Gordon's mind, grabbing clues and slotting them together into something resembling understanding.]

OTA.

[ladyofluminosity]

It didn't take long for Lux to notice that something was off about these caves. Her eyes glowing a faint blue, she tried to get a read on what was going on. The air wavered, using her Analyst Eyes gave her a headache. Closing her eyes, she put a hand over her forehead, groaning a bit. Was it the radio waves?

"It is your duty as the daughter of the Crownguard family, Luxanna."

"You will marry Fai Flourite when you come of age."

That was... her father's voice. And her mother's.

Looking up suddenly, the blond opened her eyes, finding herself in the Crownguard estate. She could smell the roses in bloom from the outside--her mother's pride and joy--and, brushing up against her leg was a young Growlithe looking for attention. Her gear was gone, and the first thing she did was look down at her hands. They were smaller, fingers slender and pale, unblemished from over a year of work. She recognized the dress she was wearing--it was a gift from House Flourite, presented to her shortly before her their official betrothal. The summer of her 10th year.

She turned toward her father, indignant words escaped her before she could catch them; "I could care less about duty! This isn't your choice to make! I refuse! I will not--"

Despite being only a memory, she could feel a hand crack across her cheek. Stinging red hot, it brought tears to her eyes, and she clutched the side of her face lightly. She ran through familiar halls, voices echoing; her father's, her mothers, and others she didn't quite recognize.

"You are my daughter, and you will do as you are told!"

"This is the only option available to you."

"You should be honored, Miss Luxanna."

"She's barred herself in her room again."

"What a selfish, spoiled child."

"Giving her father such trouble. I wonder where they went wrong."

"We all have a role we must play."

"She'll learn her place eventually."

Finding her way to her bedroom, Lux rested her back against her bed, drawing her tiny legs to her chest.

"Stop it..." She had to drown those voices out somehow, before they swallowed her whole.

[wishingalone]

Mami already wasn't pleased with this place. She had her share of secrets -- more than her share, really -- and she didn't want them shared. She assumed that the same was true: that others didn't want their fears and weaknesses exposed. It was out of their hands, though, and they could only make the best of it.

Or so she told herself. It didn't make her feel better about witnessing this.

She watched Lux run, turning her head and blinking after her; she recognized her quickly enough from the events at Sanctum. Except, of course, that she was quite younger. She heard the voices, too, and that made Mami's skin crawl. The Valkyrie's eyes widened for a moment, before she took off after her.

She cracked the door open after she caught up. Mami looked down at her, trying to push away the strangeness of meeting someone as a child who she first new as an adult. "Lux...?" she asked. "May I come in?"

OTA.

[platinumlucifer]

[ Excellen didn't quite buy into the idea that Union was a weirdness magnet. It was either coincidental, or vastly over-exaggerated. Still, it wouldn't be her if she didn't check it out anyway, her gooey wingman following a few steps behind.

All and all, the first few hundred meters had her disappointed. Once the entrance fell away, however, she began to hear voices, muffled and broken at first. ]

"...shouldn't have survived... much blood."

[ That gave her pause, brows furrowing a bit. There wasn't an echo; were they close by? Even that didn't seem quite right. ]

"We can try to... but don't... hopes up."

"Then you... mind... try something."

"Why not? She won't feel it anyway. She's already dead."

[ Her stomach dropped, and she wasn't quite sure why, head suddenly feeling light. Excellen stopped in her tracks, looking around. That last voice. She knew that voice. Why did she know that voice? ]

[darer]

[ Thorin, on the other hand, is just on his way back up. It's when he begins to hear voices he doesn't know that he changes course and heads straight for them - knowing well enough that some things were not so easy to overcome alone.

He didn't expect a familiar face. ]

Excellen?

[untalented]

[This cave was impossible.

Waver had come to that determination long enough ago to have gotten moderately comfortable with the heavy weight of uncertainty. Each step he took carried him deeper into the labyrinthine trap of shadowy nightmares that revealed the deepest and darkest fears of all who dared set foot within on this sham of an expedition. Once he found his way to the surface, he decided, he wasn't going to take part in any more underground expeditions unless the territory had already been explored beforehand; he had entered ill equipped, unprepared, and completely exposed.

It was uncomfortable. And each echoing drip of water that fell from the stalagtites to the cavernous floor sent a chill down his spine. At least he had escaped that mirage of a library with his head intact-- it was his only consolation, after getting his shirt covered in dust and the knees of his pants torn.

Things would have been fine as well, if he hadn't caught a faint glimpse of something in the shadows.

Frowning, he uttered a few choice words and the small radius around him was lit up by a sudden Flash spell, revealing all that was hidden from view.

Including a certain regal profile, marred with dirt and...blood?

Panicked now, Waver froze and stared at the disturbingly quiet and still figure. There wasn't even a stray beam of light clinging to his person.]

G-Gilgamesh?

[He stuttered out the name, torn between morbid curiosity and his instinct to run. The best way to not disturb a sleeping Shinx was to not draw near, of course.]

[cyborghands]

[Takeshi almost hadn't gone. This was an important discovery worth investigating; his inner academic's curiosity was peaked by those radio waves. But he was no longer a student. His responsibilities lay elsewhere. And... as it was, despite his initial motivation upon returning to Union, he still found himself often hiding away the way he had been in Caldera.]

[Enough was enough. Others that he knew were going, and knowing that on top of everything else he wasn't about to sit at home.]


[The cave was dark, but he could see more clearly than he used to. Still, he follows the cave wall to keep from losing his way. As he traverses deeper into the caves, disembodied voices, various in number, begin to echo- or rather, there's no echo at all despite the enclosed space. With no discernible origin, it's almost as if they're speaking right into your head. They speak in disjointed bursts, sometimes nearly overlapping each other.]

What are you doing here?

Useless. Worthless. Stop trying.

You have to hide. Why aren't you hiding?

Monster. Murderer.

They'll hate you. No place for you here. You're nothing.

[Despite their omnipresence, Takeshi doesn't stop or react- if anything, it's like he can't hear it at all. He continues on.]

sliiiiides in here for dat Rider cr

[pathofheaven]

Grandma said this: "Even the devil's whisper can sometimes sound like an angel's voice." But once you know they're the words of a devil, they can have no power over you.

[ Tendou Souji walked through the cave, seemingly unburdened by the voices in his head. Some of them weren't even relevant to his life in any way, so it was surprisingly easy to shrug them off. Besides, he was the man who walked the Path of Heaven, how could he be anything worthless? ]

Besides, a man cannot be petty enough that some bad words can stop his forward march. [ Indeed, having a few detractors was nothing. Having a million detractors was no big deal. As long as you have that one thing you must protect, the world itself will be your ally. Tendou seems to be addressing his newly found walking companion as much as he is reassuring himself, but mostly he just wants to see if he can talk down the weirdness of the cave. ]

OTA.

[miracle_miko]

[ Sanae wasn't one to run away from her past. Since leaving the convent and the great tree, she made a number of good friends. Takuto, and Right, and even Rei lived there, and she was genuinely happy. There was that guilt at times when she thought of home, and the mission she was tasked with, and perhaps that was what the cave--or who or whatever was inside--honed in on.

She watched the scene before her, subdued and surprisingly quiet. A young girl, dressed in ceremonial robes, her face painted up like some kind of doll, was being led by a number of much older priests and priestesses. Her hair was long, closer to a muddy green, and bound halfway down her back; she held some sort of small, ornamental item, likely an offering to some kind of God. She couldn't have been more than five or six years old.

Voices of the past whispered gently. ]

"She's so young! Is it true that she awakened as a Windblessed when she was only three years old?"

"Her mother and father must be so honored."

"She bears a striking resemblance, don't you think? She looks just like she did at that age."

"Maybe she can bring faith back to this place."

"She's too soft. She'll need to be stronger. Much stronger."

[ Sanae will continue to watch the procession, her expression sad. The child eventually stops as the priests and priestesses continue forward. She stares up at the cave wall, where an old painting hangs. A young woman priestess, her hair the same bright color as Sanae's, her expression is severe. Even from the painting, it is clear that she was very severe. ]

[faithfulflame]

[This is a scene that Rei'd be interested in seeing play out if she was significantly removed from it. But she is not. She's uncomfortably close to this, standing a few feet beside Sanae. It's...troubling at best, seeing someone she likes toddling along like some sort of puppet.

The chatter too, that bothers her. And it's that final comment that finally draws her to speak.]

Who is she?