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

[steelbeowulf]

Trickery. I hate these things.

[He doesn't struggle against her, and he definitely seems a bit less tense.]

[brandnewshoes]

Then... you're...?

[She glances, nervously, at Xiu. She's a ghost? It makes sense; pieces fit together, quickly, and she looks down.]

You don't remember any of this...?

[nippy]

[ there is nothing else that could register to Jack as "his own" other than Homunculi. he goes very still, and something else displaces his hostility - shock, confusion, horror - for only a moment. ]

... Sorry, I don't have my Homunculus radar on me right now. [ he glares at Robin. ] Can you stop being so calm about this? It's freaking me out more than your friend here.

[expertonshutters]

[He waves his hand in a 'don't worry about it' kind of way.]

You seem like the kind of person who would probably do something similar if our places were swapped.

[And he would have been content to let her keep working after that. However a moment or two later and he starts to feel an odd tingle in his finger tips. He snaps his eyes open wide and tenses. Ah, there it was.]

[It was an almost cold feeling- or maybe that was just the way he almost always felt panicked when it happened- but it spreads throughout his body. Cold and then followed by complete and utter numbness. ]

Dammit.

[ladyofluminosity]

[ She wraps her arms around him in a hug, burrowing her face into his shoulder. ]

You big jerk. You knew the whole time, didn't you?

[miracle_miko]

[ Both older and younger Sanae look in Takuto's direction. ]

What? You did?

[aerial_ace]

Had I not "interfered", or so I gathered.

[platinumlucifer]

That's not really fair, Kyosuke, making me see something like that.

[ Her voice trembled a bit despite her trying to keep it level. ]

[indy_wannabe]

It threw me at first but I came to my senses pretty quick.

[taudriver]

I did. She caught you as you fell. She looked very kind.

[master_tactician]

In truth I'm quite happy for the interference. I don't much think I'd like to be like that. He's rather much a jackass, if you'll pardon my language.

[steelbeowulf]

Sorry. I'll try to avoid that next time.

[ladyofluminosity]

What would you have done if I hadn't made that offer, then?

[miracle_miko]

Kind, really? That's not anything like how the priests describe her.

[aerial_ace]

[ Cordelia looks a bit shocked at the use of language. ]

I... I can't quite disagree to any of this, no.

[indy_wannabe]

Eh, I'd have figured something out.

[platinumlucifer]

[ Not even when she's worked up, huh? This guy was a machine. A machine of cold-hearted, emotionless steel. ]

...So you remembered, huh? It--it's not really my best side, I'll admit.

[ladyofluminosity]

I'm sorry you had to see all that. I know you knew about it, but... I didn't realize it still bothered me as much as it did.

[lunchleader]

[Soft Steel doesn't make any other movements towards Hayato, once the latter hits the ground. The paralysis is doing its job in keeping Hayato from attacking anyone else at the moment. Right's Litwick giggles creepily as she hovers near the Lucario, not at all hesitant at the idea of using her ghostly flames to subdue Hayato further if necessary.]

Hayato is--nngh!--not useless! [Right gasps from where he lays on the ground.] Nor does he belong to a creepy asshole like you! He's my friend! He'll always be my friend, no-- [He swallows the fear down - that fear from realizing that Hayato.] --no matter what he may be, or has become.

[...that's right. Even if Hayato becomes what Right fears to have happened, he's still Hayato. And if he really is more than an Earthkin...if he's really an Enhanced...then he needs help. A friend's help.]

[schmott_guy]

"Fully functional prosthetics would be a HUGE leap forwards!"

Trauma, what trauma? Lucca's traumatic past is pushed out of Gil's head.

"I've taken a few shots at it myself, but it's hard to find willing subjects, so progress has been slow."

And unwilling subjects are SO hard to keep still, plus they draw all the wrong kind of attention when someone notices they're gone.

[darer]

[ He sees Hayato veer off course and grabs him by his collar, yanks him back on track. His tone is not kind of patient, the statement issued like an order. ]

Stay with me. They are not real and you can not save them.

[darer]

This wasn't a place Thorin recognized. It also wasn't who or what he was looking for, but now that he was here, he couldn't exactly ignore it, even though he couldn't help wondering if Lux would even recognize him.

He knocked, standing in the half-open door she hadn't quite slammed shut and looking quite out of place, dirt-stained and dressed more practically than to impress anyone, much less Union nobility.

4am tags are the best right?

[ladyofluminosity]

She was going to get her new dress dirty from crying. That was the most prevalent thought running through her mind--besides how much she hated that that was the case. Her betrothed sent her this dress, and it was going to get dirty, and she was both upset and angry at that fact, and how much it really, truly did and did not matter to her. Lux wanted something, anything, to pull her attention away from this ridiculousness.

It would seem that fate had a strange sense of humor.

"Leave me--" Her head shot up as she prepared to spit venom at a servant; what she found standing on her doorstep, however, was not what the young girl expected. Her expression changed quickly as she leapt to her feet, pressing herself against her bed. Holding a clutched hand to her chest, she shrank back a bit, staring up in awe at Thorin, who was far taller, far more intimidating, to a ten-year old Lux than he was a seventeen-year old.

The illusion changed slightly, and an arcanine that had not been there before stared at him from atop her bed with a low, protective growl; she put a hand on the pokemon to try to calm him (or herself, it was hard to say).

"I--who are you? How did you get here?" She asked, her voice small, thin.

of course!

[darer]

The sound of her, the look she gave him, even the arcanine suddenly appearing before her, all this gave him pause. Made him look down at himself and realize, with a brief sigh, because all things considered it was no surprise she was intimidated. Perhaps even frightened.

He didn't step closer and into her room, making no move that might be interpreted as a threat by her or her pokémon companion.

"My name is Thorin." And what was he supposed to do for the rest of this explanation? If he had more of a way with words, perhaps. "I heard someone crying, and went to see what was wrong."

As he spoke, something about him shifted to better fit him into the scenery. His clothes, while still travel-stained, still Calderan in pattern and design, changed into something richer than they were, more elaborate, more vibrantly colored.

[sparkofgenius]

"It's not an easy thing. Human biology isn't as simple as machines, which is where I get stuck. I'm researching the more artificial Pokemon, seeing how that works. But I'm making progress."

She lets out a heavy breath, wipes her eyes. And nods.

"I wanna take this one slow, though. I don't want to rush stuff with mom. Can't get her hopes up and it not work. I couldn't deal with that."