bravenewworld | Descent into Darkness

Descent into Darkness

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.]

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[ Split off from friends. That is rough. Haruka pauses, calming down - no point in snapping at the kid for things she can't help - then exhales. ] Whatever's sending those signals might not want us down here. I'll find you an exit, but you have to stay close.

[ And if that "exit" is the source, so much the better. She just hopes she can find it quickly. ]

I see. [ Which means this is either divine, or something completely new? Maybe?

...No point standing in place worrying about it. She starts walking down the road - or what had, before buildings collapsed into it, been the road. ] Let's go.

...What's there to say? She's right. I took her for granted, caused her a ton of stress, and set her to drinking. One day I realized that she'd been dead on the couch for the past hour or two rather than just passed out.

After that I decided I was gonna make sure I could take care of myself so I wouldn't have to put the burden of looking after me on anyone else like I did her.

The explanation was sensible enough for Waver to accept, even in these bizarre circumstances. He nodded quietly at those words. "I see," he murmured in reply. It had to be somehow connected to Sinbad's abilities as an Earthkin-- or, whatever the terms they used in the south were. Following Sinbad a few paces behind, he cast a wary eye on their surroundings.

"And, what was that thing supposed to be?"

[Waver sighed in frustrated defeat-- it wasn't going to be his fault if Jack somehow got himself killed because of all of this!]

He's got no reason to leave, though, [he said, sighing.] And it's just like I already said. Nothing we say is going to do anything to change anything!

[He shook his head frantically, lanky hair flying in all different directions with the movement.]

[ No ceiling. No end in sight from above, either: it's very cleverly done.

Haruka shakes her head as she and Rushing Wind return to earth. ] The shadow's vanished too.

[ It got what it came for, apparently. She looks away in frustration. ] There has to be a weak point....

[ That's how she's always worked. Find the most efficient, most permanent method of problem-solving. Identify the weak point and slam into it full throttle.

If this isn't like that... ]

"A dragon-type, a huge one. Dra-someone I knew called it King Dragon because of how it lorded over the others." He explained. "Like a tyrant, the others hated us humans, but they were terrified of it."

He pauses trying to get himself oriented, are they moving deeper or away from the cave? Sinbad couldn't tell immediately. "Well, it's the best way to describe how it treated the other Pokemon - like some bad king or Tyrant."

"A tyrant? funny word coming from a human. Who are you to judge?"

"We can't go, not yet."

Her face fell. She didn't looks sad, just...serious.

"There's something strange in these caves that is causing this, and we still don't know what it is. I want to explore a bit more."

[ the Moon Man speaks up again, soft: ] Jack—

I get it! Just— shut up, you made your point! Leave me alone!

[ it's hyper-focus. that's what it's always been, isn't it? putting all of his attention, all of himself, towards just one thing to the exclusion of anything and everything else because it's so much easier that way. finding the Moon Man. researching the Homunculi. trying to save the victims of Sanctuary. and there's no other way that he could do it (he is horrified by the thought of spending all that time alone in the forest thinking about how he feels, not just the bad nights but every night, every day, for three whole years) but now he can't anymore because this thing has ruined it. no matter how hard he focuses on the things that actually matter, he will always have the knowledge of what it is doing to him, what it has already done to him. he didn't want to know this. everything was fine before.

and now, maybe it's not.

he jack-knifes into himself and his legs give out. shuddering, his staff clatters to the ground, and he presses the heels of his palms into his eyes, tries to breathe. damn it. damn him, damn all of this, why. ]

... I'm so messed up.

[ for a long moment, Jack says nothing else, makes no noise other than his heaving, stuttering breaths, the sound of someone balanced on the fine edge between composure and hysteria. in the silence, although it takes him a while to notice, there is something else noticeably wrong - the Mage hasn't said a word.

because he's gone. all of it is gone, they're sitting here in a regular cave, surrounded by haphazard constructs of ice and patches of frost, so much coldness pouring off Jack that a mist is starting to form across the ground.

Lux's vision had crumbled when she had overcome the fears and the binds that had held her to the memory of that time in her life. it was so... storybook in its conclusion, like it had been leading her there all along, waiting for her to find the way out. she felt trapped, so it set her up in an illusion of her at her most helpless in her memory. she resolved to be in control of her life and broke free. Jack has been thinking about this ever since the two of them left that illusion behind, so it doesn't take long for him to realise what this might mean for his own visions - and when the possibilities click, he starts to laugh. slow and quiet, at first, hunched over, with his hands still over his face. as it builds, the ridiculousness and horror and how pathetic this is dawning on him, he tips over that knife edge and tumbles into hysteria; he lets his head hang back and he just laughs helplessly.

this was so stupid. gods, it didn't even help! this is only going to make things hard, and he doesn't want hard. there isn't even anything he can do about it, because it's not like he's going to stop wanting his memories back or looking for the Moon Man, but he gets what the spectre was saying, he can see it now - whenever people try to understand it just makes him angry because of the things they assume, frustrated that they can't get it and he can't explain it to them. ]

Are— Are you kidding me? [ there is outrage and incredulity in his voice, but that broken edge of humour is still there, and he is grinning wide. ] That was my big moment? That's what all of this was about? "Wow, Jack, you're a screw-up!"

[Right stares in surprise for a moment. That's the first time he's heard her raise her voice outside of playing a role. He does comply with her order, but he still looks around with a wary look on his face.]

Haruka...what's really going on here?

However, it's a bit late. The Luggage trundles into the melee and rather handily knocks aside the double, bowling the prone woman over...and reminding Yuuna of where she is. And what she's sworn not to do.

"The...gods, what am I...I'm not you!"

[ he laughs more clearly and taps her on the head with the crook of his staff. ]

Come on, princess, it's not even that bad. You were a cute kid!

[ Good question. The same kind of question rang through Rincewind's mind: Why me? Why does this always happen to me? One minute he was loitering outside the cave, determined not to go in, the second, here he was. Everything was a blur. That's how it usually went, anyway. ]

[ Rincewind skidded around a corner and nearly lost his balance on ... ice? In a maddened flail, he lashed his arms out and desperately clung to a frost-touched stalagmite. Bloody hell, caves didn't normally do this, did they? He thought freezing temperatures were an attribute if the great outdoors. Caves, he'd read, were usually consistent. And this wasn't consistent. He watched his breath puff and frowned. No, definitely not right. ]

[ He looked up and caught a leading tendril of the conversation. He wondered who it was. One of the voices sounded familiar enough. Maybe they knew the way out? Rincewind beckoned the Luggage over and cautiously picked his way towards the sounds. He even hazarded a word. The one magical word that always sat in the back of someone's mind, especially when lost. ]

Hallo?

Take this seriously, dammit!

[And then he jumps, aiming to slam his fist down onto Taki. You better roll, son.]

[ 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. ]

[ She looks up at him in much the same way she did as a child. Because some things do not change. ]

You say that because it wasn't you.

[ Lux gives him a bit of a look. ]

And for the record, I'm not a princess, nor would I ever want to be. I've read enough stories to know that most of what they do is wait around for a prince to save them.

[ Lux saw it happening just before it did, his body crumpling in on itself. It was no longer a question of giving him space, the blond moving quickly to crouch by his side. She couldn't catch him--not in her state--and judging from his initial reaction when she tried to embrace him, anything beyond very basic physical contact might send him on an even deeper spiral.

She reached out her left hand, placing it firmly on his shoulder, letting him cry it out. It hurt to see him like this, knowing there was nothing she could do but listen and be there. Was that enough? She didn't think so. ]

It's okay...

[ Her voice was soft, encouraging, although she wasn't sure he would actually hear her words. She scarcely noticed the illusionary prison fading into nonexistence, that once it had completely disappeared, she was left a bit stunned.

...It didn't seem right. It didn't seem fair, and Jack's frustrations only solidified that fact. He should have gotten closure, something to look forward to, to move toward. Not this. ]

You're not a screw-up.

[ She gripped his shoulder firmly. ]

You're not...

[ She nodded simply. ]

This place... I'm not sure how, but it's playing on our emotions somehow. Showing us our deepest fears.

[ Excellen noticed. Either he was equally spooked, or he figured something out she didn't want him to. ]

I'm not even sure I know which way is up or down in this place, to tell the truth.

[ She was afraid of that. Excellen shakes her head. ]

No idea. I think they've got the wrong girl.

Not much for the scenery, huh?

[ She couldn't blame him. The voices had her on edge, particularly the last one. She knew it. Quite well, in fact, even if she couldn't put a face or a name to it. It evoked fear in her, an unsettling feeling in her stomach, and a pain in her muscles.

It made her skin crawl. ]

I didn't think I'd see you in a place like this. [ She slowly shifted her weight to one side, putting a hand on her hip as she did. ] Mind keeping me company for a bit?

[ Something was messing with her, and there was safety in numbers. More than that, Excellen was unnerved, and the idea of being alone in a place like this suddenly wasn't so appealing. ]

[ He would have to catch her first, and good luck with that.

Watching her bullets sail past the good doctor, Excellen's eyes narrow. Those were some abnormally good reflexes. A bit too good. Using Hayato as a human shield only proved to anger her more. ]

Are you really going to let some Gigan dog use you as his personal puppet?! Are you going to turn on a fellow Calderan like this?! Hayato, you're better than this! Fight it!

[ Sanae looks up suddenly, surprised by what Rei is suggesting. ]

You just have faith? That's all? And others follow you?

[ The younger girl turns toward Rise, blinking a few times. ]

What did he do?

I...

[ Sanae lowers her head, looking away. Her voice is small. ]

I don't know...

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Descent into Darkness

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